The Spill Magazine The Spill Magazine
The Spill Magazine The Spill Magazine
The Spill Magazine The Spill Magazine
  • Reviews
    • Album Reviews
    • Features
    • Live Reviews
    • Festivals
  • Portraits
  • Headlines
    • News
    • Contests
    • Events
    • Entertainment Headlines
    • Concert Listings
    • Toronto Concert Venues
  • New Music
    • Premieres
    • Track Of The Day
  • Track Of The Month
  • Books + Movies
  • About
1
new
SPILL LIVE REVIEW: ONES: THE BEATLES #1 HITS @ PRINCESS OF WALES THEATRE, TORONTO
  • Reviews
    • Album Reviews
    • Features
    • Live Reviews
    • Festivals
  • Portraits
  • Headlines
    • News
    • Contests
    • Events
    • Entertainment Headlines
    • Concert Listings
    • Toronto Concert Venues
  • New Music
    • Premieres
    • Track Of The Day
  • Track Of The Month
  • Books + Movies
  • About
  • Spill Menu
    • Reviews
      • Album Reviews
      • Features
      • Live Reviews
      • Festivals
    • Portraits
    • Headlines
      • News
      • Contests
      • Events
      • Entertainment Headlines
      • Concert Listings
      • Toronto Concert Venues
    • New Music
      • Premieres
      • Track Of The Day
    • Track Of The Month
    • Books + Movies
    • About
Album Reviews
189
previous article
Spill Artist Portrait by Daniel Adams: Dan Mangan & Blacksmith
next article
Spill Artist Portrait by Daniel Adams: Holy Grail

SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: HOWARDIAN – LAND OF THE LOW TIDES

Howardian
Land of the Low Tides
Bufu Records
RATING

Howardian is the solo stage name for Japanther’s Ian Vanek. Vanek keeps his noise and art rock sound while switching gears to Howardian and able to keep his fans.

The album begins to sound like something from the ‘90s, but after a while, it sounds very flat and without emotion. It’s very gritty, dirty, and messy; soaked in distortion. Most songs are upbeat and have a positive vibe. There’s a lot of talking sing-song in it, and at times just banter. Most songs on the 11-track album are very short – less than three minutes.

Overall, it doesn’t sound like anything special and is rather simple, but it might be of interest to those who do enjoy gritty and distorted rock.

– Sabrina Biot (Twitter@sabrina_biot)

ianvanek.com

Item Reviewed

SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: HOWARDIAN – LAND OF THE LOW TIDES

Author

Sabrina Biot

Here's what we think...
Spill Rating
Fan Rating
Rate Here
New Criteria
10
—
6.0
Total Spill Rating
—
Total Fan Rating
You have rated this
Album Reviews
album reviewshowardianland of the low tides
album reviews, howardian, land of the low tides
About the Author
Sabrina Biot
Music and writing have always been a big part of Sabrina's life. She would "borrow" her dad's rock and metal CDs from his collection and listen to them while going through the art books. Although she doesn't write angsty poetry anymore, she does have a Bachelor's Degree in Journalism which she uses to pursue a creative career path. When she's not writing, Sabrina can be found juggling a coffee cup and DSLR or Instagramming her food.
RELATED ARTICLES
album reviews
 
8.0
Litvar
7.5

SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: LITVAR – BEING HERE

by Ljubinko Zivkovic on July 31, 2026
LITVAR BEING HERE MOTHER WEST RECORDS Litvar’s frontman Rex Thurstan describes the band’s new offering, Being Here, as “a bare, stripped-back folk record.” Yet, that might be stretching it a bit. Of course, Thurstan might [...]
 
9.0
Church of Trees
7.7

SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: CHURCH OF TREES – TEN

by Aaron Badgley on July 31, 2026
CHURCH OF TREES TEN INDEPENDENT Church of Trees is a very prolific band. Since Bernard Frazer introduced the band to the world in 2017, they have released nine albums. Ten is their tenth, and, to date, their best. Although Frazer has been the [...]
 
7.0
Cindy Blackman Santana
5.5

SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: CINDY BLACKMAN SANTANA – COHERENCE

by Gerrod Harris on July 31, 2026
CINDY BLACKMAN SANTANA COHERENCE MACK AVENUE RECORDS Following 2020’s Give The Drummer Some, Cindy Blackman Santana has returned with her seventh solo studio album, Coherence. The album takes a distinct turn towards contemporary jazz fusion, [...]
 
8.0
Dead Horse Beats
9.0

SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: DEAD HORSE BEATS – CHILLING EFFECT

by Sanjeev Wignarajah on July 31, 2026
DEAD HORSE BEATS CHILLING EFFECT BASTARD JAZZ RECORDINGS Montreal/Toronto’s Dead Horse Beats, brainchild of Patrick Wade, have released its fourth studio album, Chilling Effect. The eight-track album fuses late ‘70s R&B, yacht rock, baroque [...]
 
8.0
DOMi & JD Beck
7.4

SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: DOMI & JD BECK – WHO ASKED?

by Sanjeev Wignarajah on July 31, 2026
DOMI & JD BECK WHO ASKED? BLUE NOTE RECORDS From going viral over their cover of the late rapper MF DOOM’s “ALL CAPS” to their incredible 2022 debut album NOT TiGHT. French American jazz duo DOMi Louna and JD Beck have released their [...]

Latest Album Reviews
View All
 
SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: LITVAR – BEING HERE
8.0
7.5
 
SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: CHURCH OF TREES – TEN
9.0
7.7
 
SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: CINDY BLACKMAN SANTANA – COHERENCE
7.0
5.5
 
SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: DEAD HORSE BEATS – CHILLING EFFECT
8.0
9.0
 
SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: DOMI & JD BECK – WHO ASKED?
8.0
7.4

STAY UP-TO-DATE
WITH OUR WEEKLY NEWSLETTER!

SPILL MAGAZINE MENU
  • Home | The Spill Magazine
  • Newsletter
  • Premieres
  • Track Of The Month
  • Album Reviews
  • Books + Movies
  • Features
  • Live Reviews
  • Festivals
  • Portraits
  • News
  • Events
  • Entertainment Headlines
  • Concert Listings
  • Toronto Concert Venues
  • About Us
  • Contests
  • New Music
  • Contributors
  • TOTD
  • Privacy Policy
  • The Scene Unseen
  • Newsletter

Copyright © 2026 | The Spill Magazine
All Rights Reserved.

TRENDING RIGHT NOW
   
 
SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: SOCIAL DISTORTION – BORN TO KILL
1284
 
SPILL VIDEO PREMIERE: SHAMUS – “SORCERESS”
775
 
SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: DEEP PURPLE – SPLAT!
740
 
SPILL NEWS: SUGAR SHARE NEW SINGLE “KEEP LOOPING”
727
 
SPILL FEATURE: LET’S JUST START AGAIN – A CONVERSATION WITH NICK HEYWARD & LES NEMES OF HAIRCUT 100
652
 
SPILL LIVE REVIEW: THE GUESS WHO w/ DON FELDER @ SCOTIABANK SADDLEDOME, CALGARY (AB)
619
 
SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: DOUBLESPEAK – DOUBLESPEAK
541
 
SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: KELZ – A SWEET PASSERBY
529
 
SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: MODEST MOUSE – AN ERASER AND A MAZE
518
 
SPILL FEATURE: AFTER THE ASTRONAUT – A CONVERSATION WITH KING COFFEY OF BUTTHOLE SURFERS
484
 
SPILL NEW MUSIC: SAINT AGNES RELEASE VISUALISER FOR NEW SINGLE “THE BEAST”
448
 
SPILL VIDEO PREMIERE: KYE ALFRED HILLIG – “ON SMALL WINGS”
441
 
SPILL FEATURE: IDENTITY, TRANSFORMATION & THE MEANING OF SURRENDERING – A CONVERSATION WITH JAKE LUHRS OF AUGUST BURNS RED
429
ENTERTAINMENT HEADLINES