Danielle Howle

An alternative singer/songwriter from South Carolina, Danielle Howle's music has explored acoustic folk, angular indie rock, punk, earthy alt-country, and blues. After emerging as leader of the group Lay Quiet Awhile, she soon went solo, releasing a live album in 1995 before presenting her full-length studio debut, About to Burst, the following year. A diverse, spontaneous-sounding set of full-band rock and acoustic songs, it helped land her on the Kill Rock Stars label for 1999's Catalog. In the meantime, she secured tour slots with acts like Elliott Smith and Indigo Girls. Howle leaned more heavily into indie folk, alt-country, and blues with collaborative 2000s releases like Thank You, Mark (2006) and the Swamp Sessions EP (2008), and the 2010s found her splitting her time between solo releases such as 2016's Pot of Water EP and work with the locally based band Firework Show. In 2023, she released her first proper solo studio LP in well over a decade, Current. Touching on rustic, off-kilter folk, country, bossa, classic singer/songwriter pop, and more, it marked her return to Kill Rock Stars. A native of Columbia, South Carolina, Danielle Howle released her first music in the late '80s, when she appeared on a local-music sampler. She formed Lay Quiet Awhile with her brothers Dan and Phil Cook and fronted the band on their first and only album, 1993's Delicate Wire. Lay Quiet Awhile soon stalled, and Danielle forged ahead as a soloist, releasing the brief Frog EP in 1994 and Live at McKissick Museum in 1995. A mix of acoustic fare and full-band rock arrangements, her volatile studio debut, 1996's About to Burst, established her favorably with critics and, along with the next year's Do a Two Sable (Daemon Records), a hookier indie rock outing credited to Danielle Howle & the Tantrums, led to a record deal with Kill Rock Stars. The Tantrums comprised guitarist John Furr, bass player Bryan Williams, and drummer Troy Tague, all of whom had played on About to Burst. Before making her Kill Rock Stars debut, Howle released a solo 7" single, "High School Dance," on Sub Pop in 1997. She was backed on the recording by Doug Easley (Tav Falco's Panther Burns) and Grifters members Dave Shouse, Scott Taylor, and Russel Lamkins (aka Tripp Lamkins). Her completed second studio album, Catalog, was an all-acoustic solo effort that appeared on Kill Rock Stars in May of 1999. By that time, Howle was appearing on concert bills alongside the likes of Elliott Smith, Ani DiFranco, Throwing Muses, and Indigo Girls. Back with the Tantrums, Howle released Skorborealis on Daemon Records in 2002. A 16-track set, it included "High School Dance." Howle then parted ways with the Tantrums and began recording a solo album with Hootie & the Blowfish's Mark Bryan. The resulting Thank You, Mark arrived on Valley Entertainment in April 2006. A lively, bluesier collection of songs, it featured backing vocals and acoustic, lap steel, and 12-string electric guitar by Bryan, as well as guests on horns, strings, harmonica, and more. The product of a series of collaborative, on-the-fly writing and recording sessions, 2008's Swamp Sessions EP was recorded in late 2007 by Mitch Webb on a solar-powered rig in South Carolina. The Triangle Album, an archival release of tour recordings made from 2003 to 2005, followed in 2011. Her next release, the 2012 EP New Year Resolutions, was with twangy, electric-acoustic Charleston, South Carolina-based indie outfit Firework Show. It was followed in 2016 by the solo EP Pot of Water and "Let Me Take You There," a stand-alone single promoting Columbia, South Carolina. The concert album Live from the Home Team saw release in 2017, with another non-album song, "Something Better Now," appearing in 2021. In November 2023, Howle delivered her first solo full-length studio release in 17 years. A diverse set that navigated folk, country, classic singer/songwriter pop, and more, all with her gritty, offbeat flair, Current found her back on the Kill Rock Stars label, this time on their Nashville imprint.
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