Stephen Howard has, in recent years, cut his teeth as a team player, offering up his considerable talents playing bass with indie darlings DENALI and Capitol Records "droppies" AMBULETTE, and playing baritone guitar as a member of the self-proclaimed slowest band in Chicago, PINEBENDER. Truth be told, though, Howard might not be as fitting to the sideman role as he has led himself and others to believe.

So, with the completion of Songs About A Sick Boy, Howard steps out of the shadows with a solo record that is as harrowing as it is beautiful. A total of 12 songs written over a period of 12 years, it focuses almost exclusively on his health battles and subsequent emotional fallout following the ebb-and-flow cycles of affection, addiction, and ailment.

It also acts as a collection of love songs put to paper during Howard's continued recovery after a life-long struggle with various illnesses. The record is filled to the brim with a quiet desperation, written from Howard's hospital bed but reflectively sung from his thrift store couch.