The Howlers bring 'Heavy' to Aberdeen's Assai Records

The Howlers have just wrapped up their Aberdeen stop, and it was a proper record-shop gig. The London indie rock duo brought their new album 'Heavy' to Assai Records on Sunday 12 October for an intimate in-store performance and signing session, the kind of afternoon that rewards turning up early and staying for the whole thing.

The whole event was built around the album itself, which landed on 9 October. The Howlers have spent the last few months playing UK and European stages alongside the likes of Alice Cooper, ZZ Top, Deep Purple and Wolfmother, so bringing that scale down to a record shop in Aberdeen was a sharp change of pace. The latest single, 'D.R.I.V.E', set the tone — heavy-hitting and driving, with a groove that does not let up. Frontman Adam Young has described it as one of those songs that comes together so quickly it all becomes a blur, and the album as a whole was written to be played in a club, in a mosh pit and also behind the wheel.

It is a different record from their debut, too. While 'What You've Got To Lose To Win It All' was shaped by grief and personal loss, 'Heavy' leans into the tension between desire and consequence, recklessness and reality, lit by the pull of the night and the thrill of impulse. It was written and produced alongside long-time collaborator Chris Ostler, who has worked with Black Honey, and built remotely, with demos and reworked compositions swapped across digital platforms before the band finally got into rehearsal spaces to capture live drums.

The Howlers are a leaner machine than they used to be. After a period of transition at the end of 2024, Young rebuilt the project as a two-piece alongside drummer Toby Richards, a shift that fundamentally redefined their sound and creative direction. The debut had already done the hard work, breaking into the UK Independent Breakers Chart Top 10 and picking up radio support from BBC Radio 1, BBC 6 Music, Radio X and Absolute Radio, plus international backing and editorial playlisting on Apple Music and Spotify. A sold-out 18-date UK headline tour and a European run that filled rooms across eight countries established them as a live act worth following, and this in-store run is the victory lap for the new record.

If you missed the Aberdeen date, the tour is still moving. The Howlers are taking 'Heavy' to Dundee on Sunday 18 October at 12pm, and then to Glasgow and Edinburgh on Monday 19 October, with the Glasgow show at 12pm and the Edinburgh one at 5pm. Each one is another chance to catch them in a room where you can actually see the band, rather than from the back of a festival field. And if you are still chasing the album, the full tour carries on well into the spring, with dates at the Mash House in Edinburgh and The Cluny in Newcastle among them. For now, the in-store run is the closest you will get to the record and the band in the same room.