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By John Norris @jonnynono

The state of Minnesota is roughly 86 thousand square miles. The island of Great Britain, approximately 88 thousand square miles. Howler, the fresh-faced, unapologetically smart-ass band from Minneapolis that's turned out one of the more infectious debuts of the past year, has found Britain, one of the world's most important pop markets, surprisingly easy to break. In fact, before Howler had even arrived for their first UK tour--last fall, supporting The Vaccines--they were already semi-stars, thanks to the runaway success of the single "Told You Once".

Gatesmith shares with us his astonishment over the way his band has taken off in the UK on this week's Face Time, in a conversation shot at Zaitzeff in New York's East Village, and he's not sure exactly why it's happened, though he does admit to having some Brit pop in the mixed bag of influences that have gone into the Howler sound. He also knows that despite the title of his album, America Give Up, here in his own country, things generally happen more gradually, and takes nothing for granted. "We're not egotistical assholes," he declares, "I mean, we know how it works." 

He doesn't mince words, Jordan, and in fact we talk about some of those words--about the Twin Cities music scene, spoken to the Guardian this spring--that got him in hot water with the folks back home in Minneapolis, some of them hyperbolically branding him a "hometown hater." Also on tap: Gatesmith's early bands, including the folk outfit Total Babe, and one called Tits, and his eventual honing of the Howler identity, one that owes as much to the Jesus and Mary Chain as it does Sixties pop. You'll hear about--and see-- the video for album standout "Back Of Your Neck", written on a hot and sweaty day last July, and the story of Rough Trade Records' legendary Geoff Travis' discovery of Howler, and his decision to champion them.

It's a story we've seen before--American band that breaks in England before it does at home [see: Blondie, Stray Cats, The Killers, and the band to whom Howler is most often compared, The Strokes] and the band enjoying that phenomenon to the fullest at the moment is our focus this week on Face Time. It's music and conversation with Jordan Gatesmith of Howler.