I know what you’re thinking: A freaking EP? WTF?? You gonna start listing .45s and maxi-singles, too? My band just posted a song to MySpace, does that count? Slow your roll children, let me explain.

Brash, snide, funny, ironic and aloof, Howler is one of the best young bands to surface in years. Hailing from Minnesota, they have more than just a few things in common with legendary local predecessors like The Replacements: conceptually tight pop songs meant to sound loose, smart lyrics that make you laugh, and an obvious lack of concern for image. The music is punk in spirit yet pop in execution, but where they differ from Westerberg’s boys is that while Howler is flipping you the finger, they’re laughing about it (so everyone is in on the joke). “Well I think about some other day/My only wish is that you would stay/And I wish there was something I could do/’Cause I hate myself more than I hate you”. Such tongue-in-cheek angst is irresistible, as is the rest of This One’s Different.