With the completion of Quieting Syrup, Stephen 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 various illness. 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