Howie Day Album: “Australia”

I saw Howie Day when he opened for Tori Amos in Manchester, and by the end of his first song I knew I'd buy his album. He used special effects pedals and looped sections of guitar play and singing, repeating them, so by the end of each song there seemed to be a choir of acoustic guitars, and was probably one of the coolest things I've seen in ages.

My one and only complaint about the album is that there are only ten songs! It's a travesty, I swear. To me, this is a debut that ranks alongside Imogen Heap's "I Megaphone" in the fact that I couldn't get it off repeat in my CD player. I could run through the songs one by one and tell what they're about, but to be honest I haven't got that far yet. Aside from one or two cases, I haven't worked out the stories behind the lyrics even though I sing along to them. At the moment, "Australia" is pure sound and emotion to me, and for the time being, I couldn't care less what he's saying. Someone else might react differently to these songs, but there's no doubting this man is great.

I can't get enough of the opener, "Sorry So Sorry". It has such a laidback rhythm throughout the verses before letting go of itself and grinding into the chorus. For some reason, I think of REM's "Drive" when I hear this, though it's not so downbeat. When the chorus kicks in, a lesser singer might overdo it and sing too loudly just for the sake of being heard and ruin the mood, but Howie Day doesn't, and the song's great from start to finish.

"She Says" is beautiful and shows that his voice has greater range and warmth than we might otherwise think. This song takes you back to reminiscences of a one-time lover. Who knows why? Go figure.

"Secret" rocks a little harder than "She Says", and seems to me to be less about memory than immersion in a present relationship. The lyric, "You got the beamiest face" strikes me as a great compliment to pay someone, even though I'd have no idea what someone would be getting at if they said it to me. As I say, the album means more to me emotionally than rationally.

"Slow Down" has a great rhythm, electric guitars, and a good-sized pair of cajones. "I'll stay awake for you if you can stay awake for me..." "I don't think I can trust love any more..." There's something pretty dysfunctional about this song, and I love it.

"Ghost", if for no other reason, is an appropriate title because it's such a haunting song. I find this song very romantic in that gently melancholy way.

"Kristina"... "On the phone to Saturday. Where did you go, 'cause the tequila from your kiss is still around?..." To me, that says it all. It's full of wonderful little gems like that. "...I'll be there waiting for you at the top of the stairs, you will be so beautiful..."

"Everything Else" is more up-tempo with a funky little riff and a nice sing-along quality that kind of cries out to be used in a television advert, and a really good one too.

"More You Understand" strikes me as being about 20/20 hindsight, and seeing where you went wrong in a lost relationship, and it's great the way the song ends with a more aggressive sound, and it's perfect musical accompaniment to feeling that way. Nostalgia with an edge.

"Morning After" is recorded live and it's pretty much a perfect example of what I heard when I saw him open for Tori Amos. It's beautiful, which is made all the more impressive by the fact he's a cool-looking young guy.

"Disco" closes the album with an interesting mix of whispers, plinking guitar, gentle vocals, and hope. I listen to this song and it makes me watch the clock, but for once without thinking that time is running out. Instead, I want to say, Hey, I've still got a whole hour and half before today's done! That makes a nice change.

I can't help liking this record. I look forward to his follow up, and whenever that might be, I know I won't mind the wait because my "repeat" button is still engaged, and happily disabled on "Australia".

Australia is simply a masterful piece of work - by far my favorite cd ever. There are only a handful of cds that I would classify as near-perfect from start to finish, and Australia stands strong in those elite ranks. Although the album flows smoothly as a single, unified piece of work, each song still has its own unique appeal. As soon as I heard "Sorry, So Sorry," the first song on the album, I was immediately entranced by Howie's voice and the mysterious nature of the music conveyed by the haunting melodies. Every song is beautiful and breathtaking (extremely trite, but in this case, actually true). Definitely the best CD purchase I've ever made - it never ceases to intrigue me, and it always finds its way into my stereo. After hearing this CD, I couldn't help but fall in love with Howie Day.

Mr. Day writes some of the greatest lyrics. I first heard him through a live version of "Ghost" and could not stop playing it.... still can't. He's unbelievable. If you like him, also try artists like Rachael Yamagata, John Mayer, Jeffrey Gaines, Will Hoge... Good stuff.

As many others have mentioned, I found Howie by accident. My story began with a search for more John Mayer songs (before he became popular) and I happened upon this song called "Sorry, So Sorry" that was performed by both Howie Day and John Mayer. Immediately, I fell in love with that song and went on to download more of Howie's songs. A couple months later, I bought his original release CD and thought nothing much of it. For the most part, it sat on my desk collecting dust since I only liked a couple songs here and there and found his live performances much better. Then came the day when I saw him live for the first time performing at the Virgin Megastore in Los Angeles. This was when I was absolutely blown away by his performance. I had seen John Mayer in April '02 and thought his performance was awesome, but Howie's was phenomenal compared to John's.

Now began my quest to download live performances of Howie, which I was successful at. I began downloading live performances like crazy, and listened to them 24/7.

Fast forward a year and now he's almost got a new album out and a new single called "Perfect Time of Day" which is definitely a step forward as far as style (more produced), but equally enjoyable.

All in all, there is really not a single song that I would skip past since each one has its own unique sound and emotional attachment to it.

If you truly want to experience his music in full, do yourself a favor and check him out live, even if he is just an opener.

I have to say that I actually stumbled upon Howie Day, like most other people. He was simply an opening act I originally thought would bore me. That's what opening acts tend to do. But something about his performance changed my opinion of opening acts. He sings with emotion, which is often hard to come by in the world of "look at me, I'm pretty" pop music.

Getting back to the music, I find that my favorite song off this album happens to be "Morning After," which is the only song that is done live. Even though some of the words can be muffled, it still makes me sing along. Okay, maybe that's not a good thing for other people, but it's good in my opinion. "Ghost" tends to make me feel like I should be heartbroken. As bad as that sounds, it means I'm actually getting something from the song, which is also rare. This album has been overlooked, as far as I'm concerned, but my opinion rarely matters.

It's a great cd, and if you like music that doesn't sound like it came out of a vending machine, then I highly recommend it.