ROWLAND S HOWARD - "TEENAGE SNUFF FILM" 2XLP

AVAILABLE AGAIN NOW!

Lulu's:
There aren’t many records in the Australian canon that carry the historical weight or notoriety of Rowland S Howard’s solo debut TEENAGE SNUFF FILM, and the number of artists that have made a similar impact even fewer.

From his work with The Birthday Party, Crime and City Solution and These Immortal Souls to his collaborations with Lydia Lunch and HTRK, Rowland S Howard’s influence spanned genre’s, decades and saw him added to the reverential ranks of punk icon, earning a devoted international fan base which endures to this day.

But by the nineties his career was in shambles with label problems, debts and the departure of drummer Epic Soundtracks leading to the decision to dissolve TIS, while the promise of new opportunities back home lead to his return to Australia after decades living and touring abroad.

Focusing on cleaning up, writing, arranging and picking up production work on his return, old friends and collaborators Mick Harvey and Brian Hooper were eventually enlisted to help realize this now legendary solo debut.

Throughout Rowland S Howard’s entire career his life and body of work seems to have always played off the dichotomy between the man and myth. History, whether it’s through his peers, friends or fans, paints a portrait of a contradictory figure at odds with himself and the world at large for that matter.

Opting for a more minimal approach and trading his signature symphonic noise for organ and strings, TEENAGE SNUFF FILM is a re-shoot - a reclaiming of the narrative that plays on this dichotomy between the worlds of fact and fiction - leaving the glories of past in the shadows and stepping into the spotlight under the different guise of troubadour.

Immersing the listener in a woozy low lit narcotic world full of sin, vice, vengeance, romance, decadence, toxicity and melodrama through a series of vignettes full of double entendres, noir-esque quips with tongue firmly held in cheek.

Keeping the cards close to his chest it answered a call for blood whilst simultaneously confounding its fan base laying ever gory detail bare and letting it all play out in the name of entertainment.

Whether it was the title, content or interest in his music hitting an all time low TEENAGE SNUFF FILM was met with little fanfare upon it’s release in the late nineties and seemed destined to fade into obscurity.

As his career comeback stalled, Rowland struggled with heroin addiction, poverty and health problems - emerging only to perform at small bars to even smaller crowds when he was well enough to do so (maybe more on that another time).

After twenty years caught in red tape and fetching obscene sums on the collectors market TEENAGE SNUFF FILM has finally found the widespread recognition and reissue it deserves.

Now an undeniable Australian cult classic TEENAGE SNUFF FILM's legacy endures as the first part of what would become Rowland S Howard's final act.

FAT POSSUM:
‘Teenage Snuff Film’ was the long awaited first solo album recorded and released by Rowland S.Howard in 1999. Rowland recorded the album at the Birdland & Sing Sing recording studios in Melbourne with longtime colleague and collaborator Mick Harvey contributing drums, organ and guitar and Brian Hooper on bass. The album was produced by Lindsay Gravina and engineered by James Mason & Jade Martin, and released to critical acclaim both here in Australia and internationally.

‘Teenage Snuff Film’ featured 8 original songs; ‘Dead Radio’, ‘Breakdown (and then...)’, ‘I Burnt Your Clothes’, ‘Exit Everything’, ‘Silver Chain’, ‘Undone’, ‘Autoluminescent’, ‘Sleep Alone’ and 2 cover versions; ‘White Wedding’ (Billy Idol) and ‘She Cried’ (The Shangri-Las).

- Pressed on 180 g black vinyl

- 3 sided double album, with Side D featuring an etching of a Rowland illustration

- Brand new vinyl remaster from the original tapes October 2019 by Lindsay Gravina, who produced the album in 1999