howard’s dilemma // s/t

Howard’s Dilemma
s/t
self-released

I feel like I can really only write half a review of this EP, since the essence of Howard’s Dilemma seems to be the spectacle. What we have here is almost like a soundtrack to Howard’s one-man performance art: each song introduces us to one of the many characters that Howard plays during his shows. Roboman sings “Am I human?”, while Dayv, the washed-up rock star, gives us “Look at me now.” Doctor Phaser contributes his own eponymous tune, and Sideshow Bernie, the master of ceremonies, brings us home with the Howard’s Dilemma theme song.

One-man shows, robot references, synthetic beats, campy lyrics, a deadpan Devo-esque delivery… not surprisingly, what ties all these things together is an obscure philosophy reference. I give you, courtesy of the university of waterloo, Howard’s dilemma:

According to a possibly apocryphal story, an eminent philosopher of science once encountered a noted decision theorist in a hallway at their university. The decision theorist was pacing up and down, muttering “What shall I do? What shall I do?”

With annoyance, the other replied: “Come on, Ernest. This is serious.”

Oh, those decision theorists… Interestingly, none of the three philosophy majors with whom I work (don’t ask where I work) had heard this apocryphal story. Granted, the story of Howard’s Dilemma is probably not worth knowing. The band, however, most certainly is. The songs on this EP are fun, original, and simply made for dancing. They fall solidly into the category of quirky performance art while maintaining a wide accessibility. Ten-year-olds can appreciate the choppy robot aesthetic just as much as your average ARTNOISE reader can savor the ironic delivery and deep philosophical implications (or something).

If anyone can contribute the second half of this review—that is, if you’ve seen Howard’s dilemma live—please, leave us a note. Meanwhile, I’ll be sure to catch this kid at the Fringe Festival in September.