TODD WALBERG
Boone Howard’s charm is a blend of his misfit stage persona and his musical talents. Never has this magnetism sounded so gloriously despondent as on his new LP, The Other Side of Town.
Howard’s who’s-who ensemble of Portland ringers (members of the Domestics, Hustle and Drone, Howard’s former band the We Shared Milk, and Minden) conspire to transcend the confines of dark indie-pop and move into something headier. Lurking within the album’s gloomy vibes, the hypnotic opening track “Satan” owes inspiration to OK Computer atmospherics. Howard sings the phrase “You’re not gonna leave a mark” in what’s perhaps a moment of false bravado, considering the record’s subject matter is largely centered around the fizzling of a romantic relationship.