Autoluminescent

Gaunt, frail, enigmatic, dandified, tormented: in the 80’s and 90’s, Rowland S. Howard changed the face of Australian alt rock forever, before his signature track Shivers and distinctive fretwork influenced a generation of various indie bands.

This fascinating docu-bio provides an intimate insight into the life and times of Melbourne’s legendary songwriter/punk guitarist, from his humble beginnings followed by praise and recognition amongst the musical underground scene. The film furthermore chronicles Howard’s gradual decline, courtesy of drug abuse, to his untimely death at the age of 50 from liver cancer brought on by Hepatitis C.

When Rowland S. Howard penned ‘Shivers’ at the tender age of 16, little did he know that it was to be the one song he would be associated with for decades to come. Soon after, the aspiring musician joined Melbourne based outfit The Boys Next Door, and ‘Shivers’ received a single release. However, it was only when the band changed their name to The Birthday Party (fronted by Nick Cave) that things began to take off in earnest, with Howard’s fierce and discordant guitar sounds adding distinctive flavour.

Interviews with the man himself, and also with partner in crime and former band mate Cave offer a portrait of an artist who loved his literature (Duchamp and Poe to name but a few) as much as his music – at one point berating Cave for reading Dostoevsky. Two female friends remember that Howard, as a young man, always was madly and deeply in love with girls who never loved him back.

At some point, the band decided that leaving their native Australia for Europe would further enhance their musical chances, though interviews with a disillusioned Howard tell a different story… in particular an ill-judged move to London where plans didn’t work out too well and the entire band (including girlfriends) ended up living in a squalid one-bedroom flat. Things seemed on the up again when they left for West Berlin, a place that – according to Cave – provided them with the necessary inspiration, creativity and open attitude likewise championed by other musicians such as David Bowie and Iggy Pop. Unlike with Bowie and Pop, however, Howard’s and Cave’s musical collaboration didn’t go from strength to strength in Berlin but drifted apart instead – resulting in Cave transforming the band into The Bad Seeds and collaborating with German avant-garde band Einstürzende Neubauten, fronted by Blixa Bargeld. Meanwhile, back in Australia, Howard joined Crime & The City Solution and later formed his own band These Immortal Souls.

Contributions from various PRs, and artists including Beasts Of Bourbon, Henry Rollins, Bobby Gillespie and Lydia Lunch, with whom Howard enjoyed a particularly fruitful and ‘very close’ collaboration over the years, round up this sensibly handled and very open portrait of a unique musician who confesses to the camera his regret of “having taken too many drugs” in his time. While the closing shots of Howard’s hospital treatments – interspersed with last concert footage – are as moving as they are unsettling, what ultimately stays with us is the memory and work of someone who touched and inspired many.