Hello reader,
We’re back for more.
Today, we’re excited to introduce another artist who is making great music: Sleep Habits, the moniker of New Orleans musician Alan Howard.
Howard has been quite prolific in terms of his music output. On his Bandcamp, he’s released an average of nearly two recordings per year for the past 5 years, including his self-titled debut album Sleep Habits (2019), Lay Down EP (2020), Cute Demos (2020), Cute Demos Vol. II (2020), Fault Lines EP (2021), Ouchie! (2022), Stamp Songs EP (2022), the Co EP with Mirah Houston Trinkets and Horses EP (2023), and Tangled Demos (2023).
In the press release for the Mourning Doves EP, Howard states, “The original idea for this EP was inspired by the album ‘Killers and Stars’ by Patterson Hood. Specifically, the way that album was recorded. I wanted to try evoking a similar sense of space to those recordings. Hoping to record songs that hadn’t found a home on any official release, I reached out to my friend Tyler Scurlock about doing live recordings in his living room. ‘Mourning Doves’ was recorded as a live take with Tyler, Noa Jamir, Quinn Bankston, and myself with special care being taken to capture the sound of the space we were in (Mac’s fiddle was overdubbed later). This recording set the tone for the EP and the rest of the songs were recorded with that special sense of space in mind.”
That sounds excellent to us, and Howard teamed up with NOLA-based DIY label Kiln Recordings.
Giving credit to the individuals involved on the EP:
- Alan Howard: vocals, guitar, bass, drums, synth, chord organ, production, wrote all songs
- Quinn Bankston: guitar on tracks 2 and 5, Vocals on track 5
- Noa Jamir: guitar on track 3, Vocals on track 5
- Tyler Scurlock: piano on track, engineering on tracks 2,,3 and 5
- Matt Seferian: Bass VI on track 5, engineering on tracks 3 and 5
- Shelby Grosz: Piano and Bass on track 2
- Mac Folger: Fiddle on track 5
In SWT’s opinion, one of the best songs on Mourning Doves EP is “Antique Mall.” That’s the single that we’re going to spotlight today. We’re so stoked to share it with you. It’s a beautifully wistful song that gains power as it moves through time due to its melody and vocals that could be enjoyed any time of the year.
Via the song’s video press release, ” “.
The awesome quadrant video for the song, “Antique Mall” from Sleep Habits’ YouTube channel:
(All credits and rights to Sleep Habits)
The cover art by Una Wagner for Mourning Doves EP
Mourning Doves EP Track list:
- Hold Your Name (3:41)
- Antique Mall (2:32)
- Helen’s House (3:26)
- Space Between (3:36)
- Mourning Doves (4:06)
You can follow and listen to Sleep Habits at the following links:
- YouTube: Sleep Habits
- Instagram: Alan Howard @sleephabits
- Spotify: Sleep Habits Spotify
- Bandcamp: Sleep Habits
Scummy Water Tower Productions co-founder, reviewer, business manager, and editor. Thank you for visiting this site: scummywatertower.com, and YouTube for Water Tower Sessions!
Contact me: alex@scummywatertower.com
