The debut album Release by Z’Howndz is one of those classic cliche rock recordings which proclaims true-rock sayings like “this album meant to be played loud or not at all� and “this recording is 100% analogue� written all over their liner notes, and it also features wanky rock-bloated song titles like “sex & drugs & rock & roll�, “starfucker� and “cockblocked�. But don’t take this the wrong way, once you cut through all that smokescreen rock posturing mumbo jumbo, you realize, “hey holy shit! This record rocks!�. Release is a damn good happy roughed-up boozy bar-band rock recording. All the tracks push forward and the whole recording plays through seamless. Slip this on at a party and see what happens. This will definitely loosen people up. Toronto-based Z’Howndz are comprised of: Ryder Graham (vocals, guitar), James Payment (drums), Ben Boles (guitar), Brian Cram (trumpet) and Shelton Deverell (b3 organ/rhodes). Release also features horn work by saxophonist and Shuffle Demon Richard Underhill. As much as I was like “oh fuck...� when I first picked up this recording, I ended up loving it above all else. You can download samples from Release and a copy of the bands Sept 28th, 2003 Wavelength performance from the New Glue Records web page. Checkitout!

By L Pounds
Dec 23, 2004