The Howling Bells' self-titled debut begins with a guitar scribbling stoically for a few measures, setting a mood of expectant possibility for the opener, "The Bell Hit". From this sound, the song could emerge as anything and the band could sound like anyone. The next thing you hear, however, is Juanita Stein's voice, which is thoroughly unexpected, confidently strange, and immediately commanding. She delivers a lilting tune for the first verse, breaking her syllables into melodic filigrees that sound simultaneously angelic and demonic. Then "The Bell Hit" takes another turn when the band reaches the chorus and the song becomes a country sing-along. The Howling Bells have some surprises, for sure.
All of the sounds on "The Bell Hit" and the dozen songs that follow become familiar: the dark rumble of "Low Happening" and "Broken Bones" recalls Lush and Mazzy Star, the sweeping melody of "In the Woods" is full-on Fuzzy-era Grant Lee Buffalo, and Stein's vocals bring to mind anyone from the Sundays' Harriet Wheeler to Cocteau Twins' Liz Frazer to Patsy Cline. And yet, the Howling Bells touch on these fairly obvious influences without sounding dated, revivalist, or imitative. In fact, until a last-minute lull, the album sounds vital and even occasionally thrilling, powered by the band's muscular sound and the lively production by Ken Nelson, whose work with Coldplay and Gomez never hinted at his facility for a dirtier, more ominous atmosphere.
Because they have a clear affection for old country music and rural instrumentation, the Howling Bells have been referred to as country-goth, but they're actually no more goth than any hard-living, hard-drinking country act from the last 50 years (and certainly nowhere near as goth as fellow Aussie Nick Cave). Slower songs like "The Bell Hit" and "I'm Not Afraid" kick around country-road guitar licks and shuffle along on Glenn Moule's brushed snare. Stein sings so convincingly about world-weary pub pathos-- that inexhaustible country subject-- on "Broken Bones" and "The Night Is Young" that she must have first-hand experience. "You drink from the heart and you pour from the soul," she sings on "Low Happening" as the guitars snarl. "You listen to trash but it's my rock 'n' roll!" Gloom and doom reign on this album, and not just because death looms around the corner-- which it certainly does-- but because Stein doesn't see enough life going on around her to make death meaningful.
Currently, the Bells' debut is available in America only as a pricey import, although it's been widely heralded in England and Australia. As of this writing, the band has not signed an American distribution deal, but one is surely forthcoming, right? When they do reach these shores, who knows how they'll be greeted? Perhaps their impact will be as limited as that of the bands mentioned above: a few songs popular enough to be loudly requested at live shows by loyal fans, probably a song on a television montage, maybe even a best-of comp and a mention as an influence for some future band. These songs make clear that the Howling Bells know there are worse things. As Stein sings on "The Bell Hit", "This life is a fate unknown, I never dreamt of it."
