Back in the heyday when the indie scene flourished an Australian band called Howling Bells popped up with a beautiful song ‘Setting Sun’. With sublime melodies the song remains a favourite of mine to this day. Their eponymous debut album had more melodic delights and I recall seeing them on their tour at the time. So here they are back again with their first album in 12 years (still signed to Nude Records), entitled Strange Life. The trio of Juanita Stein (vocals), her brother Joel (guitar) and Glenn Moule (drums) are the current line-up, and you may or may not know they toured stadiums with Coldplay.
Produced by Ben Hillier (Depeche Mode, Blur and Elbow) this new collection picks up where the band left off with sumptuous melodies fused with delightful and smart arrangements. Since the band have been away Wolf Alice have sneaked in and took over as the leading exponents of soaring, majestic and at times clever indie tunes.
Opener ‘Unbroken’ employs booming drums and fuzzy bass to boost a slinky earworm of a chorus. The shimmering guitars in ‘Heavy Lifting’ skank around Juanita’s pristine vocals. Her voice soars magnificently in ‘Angel’ as wondrous melodies are unleashed. A snaking electro loop underpins the retro instrumentation in ‘The Looking Glass’ as Juanita glides effortlessly with sighs and coos. ‘Sacred Land’ opts for some post-punk shapes as an edgy guitar propels the shuddering groove. Delicate guitar flicks dart around the bumping beats for the gorgeous ballad ‘Halfway Home’.
‘Melbourne’ is a sad post breakup lament that references being in a band that sounds like The Dirty Three, the melodies are divine. Joel pulls in some lovely guitar tones and tricks to stunning effect in ‘Dreamer’. The beautiful guitar tones in ‘Chimera’ flicker like a flame in the wind as Juanita tenderly sings the album’s best melody. The chorus is an absolute heartbreaker. Guitars buzz like an angry wasp in the window on the spiky ‘Sweet Relief’. The album ends with ‘Light Touch’ a raucous boomer that sounds like the end of one hell of a party.
It would be really nice to see Howling Bells pick up where they left off with this little gem of an album. There’s clearly a desire amongst the population for soaring indie music as Wolf Alice are finding out. It helps if you’re able to write great songs to sing and Howling Bells sure know their way round a melody.
