We awoke this morning to the pleasant news that one of our favorite Rochester foursomes, Howlo, is prepping the release of its debut, self-titled LP for late July. Comprised of busy songwriter/producer Ben Morey, Justin Pulver (Europa and the Great Red Spot), Jane Bryant, and Christine Benincasa, the group shared a couple album teases over on its bandcamp page to keep us busy until next month. The first, the newly recorded “Blanka,” was on the band’s short and sweet Attic Tapes EP last spring.

Howlo‘s second tease, though, comes in the form of the fantastically dreamy “Bleary,” the first new recording we have heard from the band in over a year. Led by the sweet and tender boy/girl vocals of Morey and Bryant, the song is a melancholy cut of 90’s jangle pop, recalling the likes of Polaris, Flake Music, and early Cloud Nothings. Simply put, “Bleary” is one of my favorite songs out of Rochester this year.

You can catch Howlo perform at our Rochester Invasion show on Saturday, July 25th as a part of this summer’s annual Infringement Festival. The quartet will play a couple sets in Nietzsche’s front room while joined by a handful of the best acts out of the 585. Further info can be found here.

Howlo will be the first release on new Rochester label, City of Quality Records, later this July. In the mean time, listen to “Bleary” below.

Photo by Mike Turzanski