Has it really been 12 years since Aussie trio Howling Bells released an album? Thankfully that streak ends with this week's new record. Strange Life, out this Friday, reminds us again just how forceful this group's brand of shoegaze-influenced rock can be.
Strange Life kicks off with the mid-tempo crunch of "Unbroken", a track which recalls The Bends-era Radiohead a tiny bit. The far noisier "Heavy Lifting" marries a fuzzy riff or two with layers of production. It's aces. The absolutely sublime "Angel" is even better. Vocalist and guitarist Juanita Stein pours her heart into this proto-glam ballad, going from a coo to a wail as the music climbs behind her. Her brother and fellow guitarist Joel Stein and drummer Glenn Moule keep things soaring, and that track plus the wistful and personal "Melbourne" stand out as two of the most affecting compositions on this album which has a bunch of them.
Recorded with Ben Hillier (Blur, Depeche Mode, Elbow), the sound of Strange Life is rich. This is big music, but of a kind which owes a lot to the sort of indie which so many of us grew up on. One can hear the influence of mid-period Siouxsie and the Banshees on the elegant "Halfway Home", and Lush on "Chimera", the lead single, for example. What makes this all so engaging is just how layered and complex this record sounds. On their own, I'm sure that this trio could make a wonderful sort of music, but there's a depth of sound, and a nuance to the tunes which owes a little to Hillier, I'd guess. The production is what takes the fine songs on Strange Life to the next level. What we have then on this album is something that will likely earn dream-pop tags, though I'd venture that you can hear more than the stuff of that reductive term in these numbers. Highly recommended.
Strange Life by Howling Bells is out this week. You can follow Howling Bells via their official IG page.
[Photo: David Titlow]