Howlin’ Circus release new single “Only For A Night” accompanied by an electrifying, psychedelic music video. Written the morning after the last show before the pandemic, the song prophetically urges listeners to celebrate what it means to be alive and deeply feel and appreciate the moment they are in. If you knew this would be the last show you would ever see, would you be watching it through your cell phone? If you only had this show, this moment together, if it was “Only For A Night”
“Tomorrow we might have to go to a crappy job, file our taxes or drop dead, but tonight, this night, belongs to us. We didn’t really know lockdown was coming but that night had more of an edge to it.” Jafar Sandouk said when asked about the night that inspired the song.
“I wanna see you in the moonlight
Shaking in your own right
Come on darling let me get a taste of what you own
I only see you in the sunlight
I’m chasing it my whole life
Gotta get a glimpse of what you are in all your power”
“Only For A Night” is “an ode to the magic and power of one great rock show, Only for a Night is a holy communion for everyone who found a new religion inside of a loud, sweaty music venue.” he explains.
The structure of the song in itself is a story, the track fades in taking the listener through the doors of the venue right as the band plays their opener, with just enough time to get to the front when the track’s thumping bass riff kicks in. During the song’s encore we hear the voices of music fans talking about the last show they experienced before lockdown. Only for a Night then closes out with a euphoric polyphonic chorus to send us home with.
About the video for “Only For A Night”
The video for “Only For a Night features Jafar walking alone at night punctuated with flashes of him playing all of the instruments used to compose the song. It conveys the dichotomy of being alone in the individual listening experience and yet connected with the band and the crowd through music. It’s filled with a frenetic energy and special effects, evoking the feeling of being at a show where you are so immersed in the experience that you are one with the band and the band with you. The give and take of soul-nurturing sonic energy. and the unbreakable bond of being connected through music, if only for a night.
