Howlin’ Circus Is Done With Assholes In Explosive, Heart-Filled New Single “Bullet For Your Baby”
Howlin’ Circus has released their first track of 2023 and this heartfelt new track combines rock, blues, hip hop and psychedelic sounds with an eastern twist to deliver a much needed message about kindness in dark times. Bullet For Your Baby comes almost 4 years after the release of Run The Wrong Way, described by Indie88 as “gritty, powerful, and defiant”, and encourages the act of celebrating kindness even (and maybe especially) in a cruel, and dark political climate. “Bullet For Your Baby” starts with a distorted descending guitar riff that will be stuck in your head all day, laid overtop a pyschedically sounding orchestra of chords, that start out subtle but build up momentously throughout the track. The drums and bass kick in laying down a really nice groove before Howlin‘ Circus vocalist, Jafar Sandouk sneers, “Ain’t the world cruel enough for you?” as the song asks us if it’s possible to get any lower in these divisive times. It’s a sentiment many of us can relate to in 2023, or atleast I know I can. We all have the power to choose love over hate but these last few years compassion seems to be becoming a rarer and rarer commodity, so I hope more people start taking messages like the one in “Bullet For Your Baby” to heart.
The new single comes from the upcoming follow-up album to Run The Wrong Way, which is slated to release in late 2023, and is a response to the seemingly never-ending celebration of the world’s leading megalomaniacs. But amidst the anger and despair, Howlin‘ Circus want to reserve space for kindness even if “your heart can’t be everywhere”, as represented in the song’s surprise turn in the uplifting string quartet finale. Jafar Sandouk says:
“Cruel behaviour is nothing new, but seeing it celebrated feels like a recent ritual that’s become all too familiar in our world. The outpouring of glee every time a rich and powerful arsehole does something awful… It’s impossible to comprehend. To me, this song is about letting go of that pain and anger, and making a choice to lead with love and celebrate kindness.”
A rock’n’roll heartbeat for these divisive times, Howlin’ Circus bring quiet introspection to a pulsing, Eastern-inspired psychedelic blues sound.
The brainchild of British-Iraqi, Jafar Sandouk, the band now based in Toronto, Canada, has been forging a new path forward for rock music, disavowing the machismo of the past, and embracing some much-needed vulnerability and authenticity to deliver high-energy, soul-bearing, performances.
In March 2019, Howlin’ Circus released their debut full-length album, Run The Wrong Way, a soundtrack to the chaos, political turmoil and rise in white supremacy that inspired Sandouk’s Brexit from the UK to Canada. Run The Wrong Way is a pounding, heart-filled thrill-ride challenging the listener to go against the grain, to not go gently. Sandouk says of the album: “This circus is for the outcasts. We’ve been pushed aside, gaslit, and had our futures sold to protect a dying ruling class. Run The Wrong Way is a moment to reflect on the horror, the beauty, and the sadness of breaking up with your country.”
To hear more of Howlin’ Circus, click the player below!
