415-771-1420
In the four years since its last full-length, 2008's Magnificent Fiend, Bay Area blooze-psych quintet Howlin Rain hooked up with famous admirer Rick Rubin, who helped midwife new album The Russian Wilds. While guitar-playing frontman Ethan Miller has the band's controls set for the heart of acid-rock grooving greatness, it's part of a creative evolution that dates back to his branching out from local noise-rockers Comets on Fire. The sound Miller presents with Rubin's help on The Russian Wilds has had its beard hairs trimmed somewhat, sounding more conventionally classic rock than Comets ever did, but it also puts the singer's soulful howl right at the forefront.
415-771-1420
