Fresh off of capturing the attention of (and eventually signing with) the venerable Rough Trade Records, Minneapolis quintet Howler have dropped their debut EP, This One’s Different, giving fans and critics alike a chance to finally hear what all the fuss is about. And while it’s ultimately an all-too-brief glimpse into what the young band has to offer (with only five songs clocking in at under 14 minutes), the potential and the hooks are certainly there, especially taking into account that frontman Jordan Gatesmith is still only 19-years-old (and has already left one great band, Total Babe, in order to concentrate on Howler). These simple but striking songs all bristle with the insistence and energy of youth, but also have a classic, timeless quality to them that confidently belies the fledgling nature of the band.

The insanely catchy ‘I Told You Once’ kicks off the EP strongly, with the initial jangly acoustic riff eventually giving way to a fuzzy, surf-rock guitar sound that carries over on the rest of the songs as well. But while the initial luster of ‘I Told You Once’ starts to fade a bit after repeat listens, it’s the other tracks featured on this collection that truly start to shine, including the garage-rock swagger of the title-track, which features a dynamic rhythm reminiscent of ‘Modern Age’ from the Strokes debut EP.

‘You Like White Women, I Like Cigarettes’ allows the band to display a cheeky sense of humour, even before you actually hear the track. It’s a bouncy, keyboard driven number that gets darker and more edgy as the song progresses, eventually dissolving into an impassioned kiss-off to a former love, like all of the tracks on Different seem to (Gatesmith is still a teenager, after all). But rather than coming across as depressed, lovelorn high-school poetry, these songs have a depth and shrewdness to them that distances Howler from your typical young rock band. But that’s not to say that they are already taking themselves far too seriously, as their acerbic Facebook bio attests: “Four disgusting children in one disgusting band.”

After the rather bland and innocuous ‘For All Concern’ (the only misstep on Different), the hard-hitting EP gets back on the right track with the spirited ’14 Days,’ which closes things out emphatically, while also suggesting that the best is yet to come from Howler, as they get their feet solidly under them and mature and grow as songwriters. But considering that most 19-year-olds have a hard time even waking up on time in the morning, Gatesmith and his youthful cohorts have managed to craft a collection of tunes that any band would be proud of, no matter their age or the amount of hype surrounding them.