Isaac Howlett is a British-born musician now living in Linz, Austria. He's best known as the singer / songwriter behind the internationally renowned UK synth-pop band Empathy Test, with whom he recorded and released three albums between 2017 and 2022.
After successful collaborations with Aesthetic Perfection (Save Myself) and Bop x Subwave (Storm in a Teacup) in 2022, Isaac released his debut solo, a synthwave-tinged, dance floor-ready track called House of Cards, on 28th of February, 2024. It reached #1 on the Deutsche Alternative Chart (DAC) and #2 in the bestselling synth-pop tracks on Bandcamp.
Isaac Howlett's second solo single, Endless Night, arrived on 13th December 2024. It also reached #1 on the DAC and #2 on the Klangwald Radio Chart. Synthpop Fanatic included it in their 10 best synthpop songs of December 2024, praising its "...beautiful vocals and heartfelt lyrics", while Blitzed Magazine described it as "an ethereal gem".
For his third solo single, Eggshell, Isaac headed in a darker, punchier direction, mixing synth-pop with elements of Industrial and co-producing alongside Daniel Myer (Haujobb, Liebknecht, Architect). Released on 3rd October, 2025, Eggshell debuted at #1 on the DAC and #2 on the Klangwald Radio Chart. It also peaked at #13 (Germany), #15 (Sweden) and #31 on the iTunes Alternative chart.
A fourth solo single, Ghosts of the Tsunami, also co-produced and mixed by Daniel Myer, was released two weeks later, before an EP Eggshell / Ghosts with remixes by genCAB, Clan of Xymox and Suzi Sabotage.
- News: Empathy Test Frontman Releases Debut Solo Single [...], ReGen Magazine, February 2024
- Empathy Test’s Isaac Howlett releases his solo debut, Synthpop Fanatic, February 2024
- Empathy Test frontman Isaac Howlett launches solo debut single ‘House Of Cards’, Side-Line Magazine, February 2024
- Isaac Howlett reflects on 10 years of Empathy Test, Soundsphere Magazine, January 2024
Endless Night
Hope comes and goes,
I hold her so close but I know,
She slips through my fingers like snow.
I flirt with disaster
Though, she's not who I'm after,
It's lady luck, picks up the slack again.
And I sink
Deeper and deeper inside,
My endless night.
Life laid me low,
She dealt me a blow but I know,
I'll feed on these seeds when they grow.
I spoke with my father and he told me hereafter
You're out of luck,
Everything's downhill from here.
And I sink
Deeper and deeper inside,
My endless night.
I thought I was broken, beyond repair
You stepped from the shadows, as if from nowhere,
Although it soon felt, like you'd always been there
And I sink
Deeper and deeper inside
My endless night.
I thought I was broken, beyond repair
You stepped from the shadows as if from nowhere,
Although it soon felt, like you'd always been there
And I sink
Deeper and deeper inside,
My endless night
Eggshell
I never asked
For anything more, than I need
I'm high maintenance
And so are you
But there's common sense
And there's plain stupidity
I'm walking on eggshell
Tip-toeing around
To keep you happy
To keep you happy
Falling to my knees
I'm begging baby please
Believe me when I say
That I will never
I always fought
To be in your thoughts
To be seen
I might slit my wrists
If I take much more of this
Sometimes you take the piss
Sometimes you just take the piss
I'm walking on eggshell
Tip-toeing around
To keep you happy
To keep you happy
Falling to my knees
I'm begging baby please
Believe me when I say
That I will never
I'm walking on eggshell
Tip-toeing around
To keep you happy
To keep you happy
Falling to my knees
I'm begging baby please
Believe me when I say
That I will never
Ghosts of the Tsunami
I wish that I could be
Carried away
By a tidal wave
But there's something in the way
Something in the way
And I don't think it's you
I think maybe it's me
Ghosts of the tsunami
We need to be told
That it's our time to go
It's our time to go
It's our time to go
The driver looks through me
As he's driving away
He doesn't see me wave
There's something in the way
Something in the way
And I don't think it's you
I think maybe it's me
Ghosts of the tsunami
We need to be told
That's it our time to go
It's our time to go
It's our time our go
I think maybe it's me
Ghosts of the tsunami
We need to be told
That's it our time to go
It's our time to go
House of Cards
When you close your eyes,
When you say good night,
Who, do you dream of, and
Who, are you hiding from?
When we compromised,
I slowly died inside.
When you twist the knife,
When you make me cry.
All of my words are now
Already spoken
All of my dreams are lying
Shattered and broken.
I was dying to breathe,
In your house of cards.
I was dying to leave,
In your house of cards.
Does it satisfy,
Knowing you've denied,
All that I dreamed of and,
All, that I couldn't have?
When we compromised,
I slowly died inside.
When you twist the knife,
When you make me cry.
All of my words are now,
Already spoken.
All of my dreams are lying
Shattered and broken.
I was dying to breathe,
In your house of cards.
I was dying to leave,
In your house of cards.
In your house of cards.
In your house of cards.
I hear the trees, they're,
Calling my name.
I feel the wind
And the rain on my skin.
It's a medicine, for my soul.
All of my words are now,
Already spoken.
All of my dreams are lying,
Shattered and broken.
I was dying to breathe,
In your house of cards.
I was dying to leave,
In your house of cards.
In your house of cards.
In your house of cards.
I was dying to breathe,
In your house of cards.
I was dying to leave,
In your house of cards.
Run out of the darkness,
Into the light.
Run out of the darkness,
Into the light.
Spiralling
Everything
Everything
Everything
Spiralling
Out of control.
You’re holding me
So I can breathe
So I can’t hurt myself again
And I know this is hurting you.
I know that I’m hurting you.
Depression runs in the men
On my mother’s side
It's dragging me further in
To a place I cannot hide.
And I’m falling away,
Been falling for days.
And I’m falling away,
Been falling for days.
Everything
Spiralling
Catastrophe, envelopes me
And I'm losing control.
Anxiety,
Cripples me
Til I can’t feel myself again.
And I know this is hurting you.
I know that I’m hurting you.
Depression runs in the men
On my mother’s side
It's dragging me further in
To a place I cannot hide.
And I’m falling away,
Been falling for days.
And I’m falling away,
Been falling for days.
And I know this is hurting you.
I know that I’m hurting you.
And I know this is hurting you.
And I know this is hurting you.
And I know this is hurting you.
Everything, spiralling.
And I know this is hurting you.
Everything, spiralling.
And I know this is hurting you.