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Howling Bells are an Australian indie rock band that formed in Sydney in 2004. The band obtained popularity following the release of its 2006 self-titled debut album. The lineup consists of Juanita Stein (vocals, rhythm guitar), Glenn Moule (drums), Juanita's brother Joel Stein (lead guitar), and Gary Daines (bass guitar).
Originally called Waikiki, the band changed its name and musical style preceding its move from Australia to England. Howling Bells' debut album, Howling Bells, was produced by Ken Nelson. The album charted in the Top 100 in the UK and just outside the Top 50 in Australia, and it was included on Album of the Year lists for a number of publications. The band's next release, Radio Wars (2009), received mixed reviews, although it charted higher than its predecessor in both the UK and Australia. The band supported Coldplay on the third leg of the North American Viva la Vida Tour. In 2009, Gigwise named Juanita Stein "the sexiest woman in rock." Their third album, The Loudest Engine (2011), received largely favourable reviews but underperformed on the charts in comparison to the bands' two prior releases. In 2011, original Howling Bells bass guitarist, Brendan Picchio, left the band. Their fourth album, Heartstrings, was released in June 2014.
Howling Bells have been labelled as "melodic blues" and "country-goth." They were influenced by The Beatles and Jimi Hendrix, and were often compared to Mazzy Star and The Velvet Underground.
Demos of the new material were sent to British producer Ken Nelson (Coldplay, Gomez). The band members considered him to be an unattainable candidate as a producer, but he responded favourably. Upon learning that he was interested in working with them, they moved to London. At the time, Nelson was occupied working with Coldplay. For eight to ten months, the band lived in adverse conditions in one room in a house in London. During this period, the members took up menial employment opportunities. Picchio sold double-glazing over the telephone. Moule worked in a pub and in a car workshop, and Joel worked on a farm.
By July 2005, the band was not yet signed to a record label. "A&R Newsletter Vol. LXXIV". A&R Worldwide. Pangaea Entertainment Group, LLC. (5 July 2005). Archived from the original on 13 April 2011. Retrieved 4 April 2011. Howling Bells toured for ten months prior to the release of the album. They played sporadically in clubs in Australia and North America, and they toured Europe and the UK with Editors. "The Cops, The Howling Bells, The Kits @ Club 77, 06/08/05". FasterLouder. Sound Alliance. (9 August 2005). Archived from the original on 13 April 2011. Retrieved 3 April 2011. "Howling Bells past concerts". Songkick. Ian Hogarth, Pete Smith, Michelle You. Archived from the original on 13 April 2011. Retrieved 3 April 2011. Note: User required to navigate numbered tabs at bottom of page. The group played extensive UK club shows with many artists, including The Young Knives and Hank & Lily.Bright, Jon (29 March 2006). "Young Knives + Howling Bells". musicOMH. OMH Media. Archived from the original on 23 February 2008. Retrieved 3 April 2011.Hegazy, Alex (9 December 2005). "Howling Bells @ 93 Feet east". Access All Areas Music. Alessia Matteoli. Archived from the original on 14 February 2006. Retrieved 4 April 2011. Howling Bells also played Camden Crawl and the 2006 NME New Music Tour.Webb, Simon (23 April 2006). "Camden Crawl 2006". Room Thirteen. Guy Powell. Archived from the original on 23 May 2006. Retrieved 3 April 2011.
The album was released in May 2006 in the United Kingdom on the Bella Union label and in Australia in July through Liberation Music. "Howling Bells β Howling Bells". MusicBrainz. MetaBrainz Foundation. (2006). Archived from the original on 22 May 2011. Retrieved 26 March 2011. "Howling Bells". Bella Union. Archived from the original on 11 February 2006. Retrieved 1 April 2011. It received critical acclaim, including a perfect 5/5 from musicOMH.Hubbard, Michael (5 May 2006). "Howling Bells β Howling Bells". musicOMH. OMH Media. Archived from the original on 11 December 2006. Retrieved 25 March 2011. NME rated it 9/10 and wrote in a review, "By turns beguiling and enthralling, this is an extraordinary album." Howling Bells peaked in the Top 100 of the UK Albums Chart and just outside the Top 50 of the ARIA Charts.Zywietz, Tobias (29 November 2007). "Chartwatch 2006 Chart Booklet" (PDF). Zobbel.de (originally from OCC β The Official Charts Company). Tobias Zywietz. p. 16. Archived from the original on 30 June 2011. Retrieved 26 June 2011.Wallace, Ian (24 July 2006). (PDF). ARIA. Australian Recording Industry Association. (855): 6. Archived from the original on 30 June 2011. Retrieved 22 June 2011. Note: A free, open-source original online document for this reference does not exist. In this case, the original is from Pandora Archive and was preserved there on 20 September 2006. At the time, it was the fastest selling album on the Bella Union label. The release appeared on Album of the Year lists for a number of different publications. "Best Of 2006". Metacritic. CBS Interactive Inc. (2007). Archived from the original on 5 February 2009. Retrieved 14 February 2011. In its 22 March 2007 issue, Rolling Stone named Howling Bells one of their three bands to watch out for that year. "Howling Bells Tour Oz in May". Hotsource. Burgess Ventures. (11 April 2007). Archived from the original on 13 April 2011. Retrieved 3 April 2011.
Howling Bells spent much of the next two years touring the UK, Europe, Australia, and the US. They played at the 2007 NME Awards Show. They performed at numerous festivals during the northern hemisphere's summer months in 2006 and 2007, including Reading and Leeds and Latitude.Aubergine, Cath (15 July 2006). "Taxi For Mr Strange?". Manchester Music. Musicdash Ltd. Archived from the original on 9 September 2007. Retrieved 3 April 2011. They supported Placebo in Europe and Australia and The Futureheads in the UK.Tijs, Andrew (11 January 2007). . Undercover Network Pty Ltd. Archived from on 13 April 2011. Retrieved 3 April 2011. The band also supported Mercury Rev, Snow Patrol, and The Killers across three different continents.
Radio Wars was first released in the UK in March 2009, and it appeared in several other countries shortly thereafter.
target="_blank" rel="nofollow"> "Howling Bells β Radio Wars". MusicBrainz. MetaBrainz Foundation. (2009). Archived from the original on 8 May 2011. Retrieved 26 March 2011. The album signalled a change in direction. The band's music had become brighter and more accessible and placed a greater emphasis on keyboards. Consequently, reviews were mixed. BBC Music claimed "the second chance may well have been squandered."Burgess, Keira (20 February 2009). "Howling Bells Radio Wars Review". BBC Music. The Crown. Archived from the original on 1 April 2011. Retrieved 4 March 2011. Gigwise called it "an album of mashed-up half ideas."Bye, Jon (4 March 2009). "Howling Bells β Radio Wars (Independiente) Released:02/03/09". Gigwise. Giant Digital. Archived from the original on 5 March 2009. Retrieved 3 March 2011. In a positive review, ABC described it as "anthemic, edgy, stomping indie rock at its best." "Reviews: Music > Howling Bells: Radio Wars". ABC Online. Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). (27 February 2009). Archived from the original on 3 March 2009. Retrieved 4 March 2011. It peaked in the Top 30 in Australia and just outside the Top 50 in the UK.Wallace, Ian (13 April 2009). "The ARIA Report"(PDF). ARIA. Australian Recording Industry Association. (998): 6. Archived from on 30 June 2011. Retrieved 26 June 2011. Note: A free, open-source original online document for this reference does not exist. In this case, the original is from Pandora Archive and was preserved there on 20 April 2009.Zywietz, Tobias (19 September 2010). "Chartwatch 2009 Chart Booklet" (PDF). Zobbel.de (originally from OCC β The Official Charts Company). Tobias Zywietz. p. 13. Archived from the original on 26 June 2011. Retrieved 26 June 2011.
Howling Bells headlined a tour of the UK in March 2009, supported by The Joy Formidable and Chew Lips. They played V Festival in Australia in April and were then invited to support Coldplay in May and June in North America. "Howling Bells Sign To Nettwerk; Join Coldplay Spring Tour". (5 April 2009). Nettwerk Music Group. Nettwerk One Publishing. Archived from the original on 13 April 2011. Retrieved 2 April 2011. The band played more festivals in Europe, including Hop Farm, Hard Rock Calling, and Pukkelpop. "A&R Worldwide β Newsletter CCXIX". A&R Worldwide. Pangaea Entertainment Group, LLC. (3 June 2009). Archived from the original on 13 April 2011. Retrieved 2 April 2011. Note: Under Heading: Artist Updates at Supervision Management ? ΒΆ III. They supported Coldplay again for three nights of their European leg in August and September. The group returned to Australia to write music for its third album and to tour in December. Howling Bells received much praise from bands they supported on tour. Coldplay's Chris Martin advised his audiences to download Howling Bells' song "Nightingale."Perkins, Tessa (24 June 2009). "Coldplay Viva La Vida Concert Tour 2009". Press+1. Kindah Mardam Bey. Archived from the original on 13 April 2011. Retrieved 3 April 2011. In July, Snow Patrol's Gary Lightbody named the group as his "Band of the Week" in Q magazine.
Juanita made the decision to develop her on-stage persona in 2008 and 2009. She became more confident, animated, and outgoing in her interactions with the audience and in her choice of clothes and hairstyles. In March 2009, Gigwise proclaimed her "the sexiest woman in rock." "The 25 Sexiest Women In Rock!". Gigwise. Giant Digital. (17 March 2009). Archived from the original on 21 March 2009. Retrieved 4 March 2011. She also placed among the top ten of Clash magazine's "Top Woman of 2009" list.
In September 2010, Howling Bells started recording The Loudest Engine at the Killers-owned Battle Born Studios in Las Vegas. It was produced by bassist Mark Stoermer, whom the group had met while it toured with The Killers. The relationship between Stoermer and Howling Bells strengthened after the band disembarked from its flight to Las Vegas. The flight had been delayed by more than 12 hours, but he had nonetheless waited for them at the airport. Howling Bells were impressed by his style of work. Rather than overproducing, he kept the amount of takes to a minimum and allowed the band just to play, which kept the sessions very natural.Von Pip, Andy (29 September 2011). "Howling Bells The Loudest Engine Special β Album, Gig and Interview". The Von Pip Musical Express. Automattic. Archived from the original on 23 October 2011. Retrieved 23 October 2011. The band members became less conscious of trying to please other people, made the record that they wanted, and hoped that it would change people's attitudes toward the band.
The Loudest Engine was first issued in Australia in September 2011. "Howling Bells β The Loudest Engine". MusicBrainz. MetaBrainz Foundation. (2011). Archived from the original on 1 November 2011. Retrieved 1 November 2011. The album received mostly favourable reviews from music critics, but it did receive its share of negative response as well. Mojo magazine rated the release 8/10 and praised it as the band's finest album to date.Bloggs, Joe (October 2011). Mojo (London, UK: Bauer Media Group). (215). . On the opposite end of the spectrum, NME rated it 2/10 and claimed that it "[fell] flat in a puddle of MOR." Note: Included in 10 September 2011 print edition, p. 47. . The Loudest Engine charted in both the UK and Australia.Zywietz, Tobias (24 September 2011). "Chart: CLUK Update 24.09.2011 (wk37)". Zobbel.de (originally from OCC β The Official Charts Company). Tobias Zywietz. Archived from the original on 6 October 2011. Retrieved 26 September 2011.Wallace, Ian (27 September 2011). (PDF). ARIA. Australian Recording Industry Association. (1126): 8. Archived from the original on 6 October 2011. Retrieved 6 October 2011. Note: A free, open-source original online document for this reference does not exist. In this case, the original is from Pandora Archive and was preserved there on 30 September 2011. Chart placement represents ARIA Top 100 Physical Albums. To coincide with the release of the album, Howling Bells played a short six-date tour of the UK. In November, they supported Elbow in Europe, and later that month they returned to Australia, where they headlined shows in December. Following this, bass guitarist Brendan Picchio left the band and was eventually replaced with Gary Daines.Geddes, Jonathan (4 June 2014). "Howling Bells are back on the road again: AUSSIE band Howling Bells took a few years off β then put together an album in just 11 days.". Evening Times (Glasgow, Scotland: Newsquest). Archived from the original on 19 August 2014. Retrieved 19 August 2014.
In November 2013, Howling Bells recorded Heartstrings at Assault & Battery Studios, in London.
target="_blank" rel="nofollow"> "Day1 @AssaultBattery in London, recording our new album with the awesome @cjmarks and Alan Moulder...let it begin!". Twitter. (10 November 2013). Archived from the original on 2 April 2014. Retrieved 3 April 2014. The album was primarily produced by Marks, but Moulder supported the effort and was given credit as co-producer. Marks set the tone of the environment in the recording studio and the band felt extremely open and comfortable in her presence. Her female nature was credited with her ability to elicit exceptional performances from the band, more so than any of her record producer counterparts who worked with Howling Bells previously. The band moved on from former label Cooking Vinyl and established a partnership with Birthday Records, a small, independent record label founded by former Kaiser Chiefs drummer, Nick Hodgson. "Nick Hodgson explains his exit from Kaiser Chiefs". NME (London, UK: IPC Media, Time Inc.). (25 January 2013). Archived from the original on 28 January 2013. Retrieved 2 April 2013.
Heartstrings was released worldwide in June 2014. The album received generally favourable reviews from music critics. NME rated it 7/10 and professed, "Howling Bells aren't back to their best, but they're within touching distance".Welch, Andy (30 May 2014). "Howling Bells β Heartstrings: Eight years on from their debut, the Aussie band return to form". NME (London, UK: IPC Media, Time Inc). Archived from the original on 7 July 2014. Retrieved 15 August 2014. Note: Included in 31 May 2014 print edition, p. 35. . Q magazine rated it 3/5 and commented, " Heartstrings lacks the killer song that would bring Howling Bells the success they undoubtedly crave".Bloggs, Joe (July 2014). Q (London, UK: Bauer Media Group) 109. . The album failed to chart in any nation. Howling Bells headlined shows throughout the UK in May and June. They played V Festival in the UK in August and a short series of shows in Australia and New Zealand in September. "V Festival 2014". V Festival. Maztec Ltd. & Roseclaim Ltd. (2014). Archived from the original on 25 June 2014. Retrieved 20 August 2014.
In November 2017, Joel Stein's solo project, Glassmaps, released Strangely Addicted, their debut album.
Juanita Stein has released solo albums of her own, including America (2017), Until the Lights Fade (2018) and Snapshot (2020).
In January 2022, the band reunited to perform their debut album in its entirety at a series of live gigs at various venues throughout the UK, including Brighton, Manchester and London.
Their music has been called folk rock, melodic blues, and country-gothic rock. "Press Releases: Howling Bells set to open for The Killers next Friday at The Theatre at the Frank Erwin Center". UTErwinCenter.com. University of Texas. (4 April 2007). Archived from the original on 19 August 2007. Retrieved 3 April 2011. Juanita disagrees with the group's gothic characterization.
The style of Howling Bells was greatly influenced by film.Harrt, Michael (26 June 2006). "Press Releases: Howling with the Bells". ninemsn. Nine Entertainment Co. Microsoft. Archived from the original on 3 September 2007. Retrieved 2 April 2011. The Steins and Picchio have expressed admiration of French films in particular.Jones, Neil (22 March 2007). "Sexy, cool, romantic and, you know, a little bit... fucked up β Neil Jones with Howling Bells at The Pointe". Miswig. Scott Jones. Archived from the original on 13 April 2011. Retrieved 24 February 2011.McNaney, Luke (24 August 2006). "Howling Bells Interview". CD Times. Poisonous Monkey Ltd. Archived from the original on 29 August 2006. Retrieved 11 March 2011. Juanita has stated that she enjoyed bringing the strange and ethereal energy from those films into their music. To describe the sound of Howling Bells' debut album, critics used terms like dark, brooding, and Americana.Digravina, Tim (2006). "Howling Bells β Howling Bells". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Archived from the original on 15 April 2011. Retrieved 31 March 2011. NME described it as "the sound of PJ Harvey hitching a ride with The Velvet Underground through Twin Peaks."
The second album, Radio Wars, in which the band experimented with and , had a more electronic pop sound. They also incorporated arrangements of string and brass instrument into the album.Leahey, Andrew (2009). "Radio Wars Howling Bells". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Archived from the original on 13 April 2011. Retrieved 15 February 2011. Their goals were to make a different kind of record by exploring other genres of music and to create something more insightful and futuristic. Not unlike the first record, Radio Wars contained elements of dark subject matter. "Cities Burning Down," the darkest track from the album, was a song that Juanita and Moule wrote together. "Howling Bells + The Magi + The Joy Formidable + Two Skies". The-Plug. Scott Bailey, Adele Armitage. (14 March 2009). Archived from the original on 13 April 2011. Retrieved 15 February 2011. Its lyrics were inspired by the apocalyptic sound of the music, which they created first.
The Loudest Engine features a sound adapted to the genres of folk and rock, more so than the previous two Howling Bells records. Juanita explained that the band relied less on the sound technology that was prominent in Radio Wars, instead returning to the more organic state of Howling Bells. For the new album, Joel was inspired by prog rock and krautrock acts such as Amon DΓΌΓΌl and Aphrodite's Child. Note: Interview was removed from its host site. Alternatively, it can be downloaded from here. Howling Bells were inspired by The Doors documentary When You're Strange, which the members watched just before beginning to record The Loudest Engine.
Heartstrings, like the first record, was very much influenced by film, and is recognized for its cinematic quality. "Howling Bells talk film inspiration". Something You Said. Robert Townsend. (28 May 2014). Archived from the original on 1 June 2014. Retrieved 9 July 2014. Juanita indicated that they deliberately made the album to sound like a soundtrack to a movie.Skleba, Stephen (20 June 2014). "Howling Bells return to pull at our heartstrings". (Chicago, IL: Boxx). Archived from the original on 1 August 2014. Retrieved 20 August 2014.Florino, Rick (16 June 2014). "Interview: Howling Bells". Artistdirect. Rogue Digital, LLC. Archived from the original on 2 July 2014. Retrieved 24 August 2014. Howling Bells along with the production team watched Paris, Texas and Blue Velvet, in an effort to replicate the mood, emotion, and atmosphere of these two films in particular. Other films that played a significant role in the making of Heartstrings include, Badlands, Bonnie and Clyde, Klute, , Nashville, Pleasantville, The Last Picture Show, and Vivre sa vie.
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