Howlin Rain Shares “Fall Away” From Deep-Cut Covers Album Watermelon

Photography by Kristy Walker

Today, Howlin Rain shares “Fall Away,” the second single to be released from the band’s forthcoming deep-cut covers album, Watermelon. Originally written and recorded by the pioneering Inuit rock band Sugluk, the track was discovered by Howlin Rain founder Ethan Miller on the seminal Light in the Attic compilation, Native North America (Vol. 1): Aboriginal Folk, Rock, and Country 1966–1985. On Howlin Rain’s reimagined version, Miller and company swap the inimitable First Nations backbeat for Crazy Horse chug and blasting fuzz.

“Sugluk’s recording is such a pure expression of youth and raw musicality. It’s an incredibly striking song to me. What Blue Cheer is to Cream, Sugluk is to the Troggs or The Seeds; the edgy garage pop form is there, but it’s exploding at every turn. All artifice is burned off and what’s left is a perfectly captured emotional expression—a youthful first heartbreak, barely-hanging-on musical rollercoaster,” says Miller. “We thought it would be fun to dial up the volume on the amps and deliver it with a heavy nod to Neil Young and Crazy Horse fuzz-and-stomp.”

Watermelon, due November 13 via Silver Current Records, celebrates 20 years of Howlin Rain riding the bus to never-ever land. The nine-track collection is a gift of left-field, often-forgotten cover tunes drawn from a late-night FM transmission that never was, evoking an era when LPs, waterbeds and bongs sat side by side in headshops strewn across the coasts and flyover states.

With Watermelon, Miller has reinvigorated Howlin Rain’s ever-changing roster once again, retaining only drummer Justin Smith from previous iterations and adding Jonny Niemann on keys, Jason Soda on guitar and vocals and Kyre Wilcox on bass and vocals, along with notable guests Chris Robinson, Ty Segall and David Nance. The newly minted lineup delivers tracks by Mountain, Judee Sill, Moby Grape, Fairport Convention, Todd Rundgren, Scott Walker, Tim Hardin and Mountain Bus, among others.

The album’s previously released first single, “Silver Paper,” takes Mountain’s earnest, rough-hewn soul, aptly channeled by The Black Crowes’ Robinson on vocals, alongside Miller’s fretboard pyrotechnics, into ’70s rock ’n’ roll glory.

“Rather than curate a record like this with universally favorite hit songs, we wanted to draw on more esoteric songs and sometimes obscure artists that were meaningful to us, both of which would tempt further investigation into their strange stories and secret worlds,” continues Miller. “In that way, the album is a bit of a historical and musical jigsaw puzzle. What ties it all together is our inspired interest in this material, that somehow these underground rabbit holes all linked together for us and showed us a connected musical world unto themselves.”

For those who’ve lost Howlin Rain’s trail over the years, Watermelon represents a hard reset, a stunning infusion of psychedelic vigor and a glorious reinvention of a band that’s no stranger to new beginnings. Each track opens a new box of surprises—all it takes to unlock them is a simple needle drop.

Howlin Rain – Watermelon

Silver Paper (ft. Chris Robinson)

Jesus Was a Crossmaker

Fall Away

I Am Not Willing

Possibly Parsons Green (ft. David Nance)

Black Maria (ft. Chris Robinson)

30th Century Man (ft. Ty Segall)

If I Were a Carpenter

Rosali

Watermelon will be released November 13, 2026, on vinyl, CD and digital formats via Silver Current Records. Pre-order the album through Bandcamp.