Album Review—So She Howls by Carla Patullo

A Musical Journey From Death To Immortality

Modest Mouse’s famed slogan, “Music is to the Soul What Words Are to the Mind”, has always guided my definitions of music. It also describes the orientation I take while penning my music reviews. Perhaps this is the reason why appreciating music calls for a special aptitude. Anyone who has got ears can listen to music; but to decode the message the artist packs in it, one needs to embrace it with an open heart, letting go of the tendency to pre-judge. Carla Patullo’s ‘So She Howls’ is one of its kind album–rare to find among the mainline musical compositions.

What is in the making

The making of this album has followed an unconventional approach to composing. The artist has combined howling vocals, electronic rhythms, and orchestral waves to create collages in sound that will put the listener into a trance. The hypnotic impact of these sound waves seems to ignite the process of healing in the listener. Explaining how the album came to fruition, Patullo says, “I was grappling with the fear and anxiety surrounding the untimely death of my mother, which was closely followed by my own near-death experience.” The serious purpose the composer visualizes for her album is evident in these lines.

Tryst with death

So, strange as the album title ‘So She Howls’ might sound, the songs of this album are a kind of Carla Patullo’s personal narratives – born out of her tryst with death. Moving through the tracks progressively one after another, the listener gets to experience an autobiographical journey of the composer. The musical narratives in these songs gradually evolve from haunting hypnotic soundscapes to inspiring psalms that point to resilience and recovery.  The first part of Patullo’s story is replete with fear, grief, and horrifying encounters with death, while the second part follows her determined battle exhibiting courage, adventure, and healing.

The mastermind behind the album

Carla Patullo is a versatile artist who has written scores for more than 30 popular films. She has the credit of fronting the rock act White Widow. She has also served as the musical director for Sandra Bernhard, the legendary comedian. Her achievements in her career span sharing the stage with Liza Minnelli, Rufus Wainwright, Justin Vivian Bond, and several others. She was nominated for Hollywood Music in Media Award four times.

Patullo is also a prolific songwriter who has written more than 100 songs placed in highly popular films and TV shows. Patullo is zealous about making music that supports the causes of immigrants, women, and the LGBTQIA+ community. The other artists featured in the album ‘So She Howls’ include Scorchio Quartet (Philip Glass, Laurie Anderson, David Bowie), composer and producer Lili Haydn, and vocal ensemble Tonality.

What to know before you play it for yourself

• Unlike other casual-toned albums that can only entertain the listeners, Patullo seems to have a definite purpose for this work. Therefore, before playing the tracks, you must first acquire a serious and focused mindset to let the songs do the work the composer wants to get done for you.
• Most probably, the unusual combination of howling vocals, electronic rhythms, and orchestral waves of ‘So She Howls’ will bring you a novel musical experience you never had earlier in a musical work.
• To presume what to expect from this album, consider what Acoustic Music says about it, “. . . a zone midpoint between Kate Bush and Martha Bates Motels creating a semi-symphonic progressive melodic groove that enthralls, absorbs, saddens, uplifts, and caresses the ear and mind in a tale of deliquescing love.”
• The studio notes call this album a raw musical journey. The three stages we confront on the way are grief, healing, and recovery. The songs feature the sounds of both the natural and machine worlds; each track uniquely transports you to a new-mind state.
• To grasp the theme and to achieve the intended purpose of this album, it is necessary that you listen to it in one go – playing the tracks in the same order from #1 through #9.
• The first few tracks bring you haunting soundscapes that will stir the bottom of your heart and reveal the pains, sorrows, and disappointments you have been experiencing. Eventually, the tracks turn into uplifting anthems of recovery and resilience.
• The process of evolution, transformation, and healing that unfolds through the tracks is phenomenal and a matter for everyone to experience personally by dedicating oneself to listening to it in an immersive fashion.
• On the whole, ‘So She Howls’ closely follows the composer’s resolute path to seek healing. Therefore this album is the artist’s personal adventure, in turn simulating the same king of adventure in you and me.

Final Note

While penning this review, I intend to give the listeners short notes with the route map to approaching, understanding, and appreciating Carla Patullo’s album. Listening to “So She Howls” without this sort of preparation will feel like a blindfold walk, and you are surely going to miss out on its true essence. Now, go forward and listen to this album with the right focus. Carla Patullo’s musical narrative will assist everyone’s journey from darkness to light and from death to immortality.