Howling Bells

From the ashes of Sydney band Waikiki, the three original members found themselves a new bass player and moved to London to find their new sound under the title of Howling Bells. Moving from the a fairly lacklustre poppy genre and onto something with a little more guts, they have a far more ominous tone and it suits them fine.

Warming the Corner crowd was young and plucky Papa VS Pretty. Like the Bells they hail from Sydney and show promise. As yet their sound is fairly un original with its sweet quirky pop genre and outfits to match, they have so much room to grow into their own skin and deliver something very special if their competency on their instruments is anything to go by. Let them sit a little, like wine or some equally cliché metaphor.

Pretty were followed up by Canvas Kites. Forming from members of the delicious Mercy Arms they are always a pleasure to watch. They ooze happy. They make me smile as much as they do. Up beat melodies, ultra trendy hair cuts, friendly interactions. Fun. Enough said.

This latest tour follows the release of their second album release Radio Wars. A fairly disappointing effort compared to their debut self-titled which was received with great praise for an album with beautiful layers soaked in depth and melancholy. So, it was no surprise that the set list for their gig at Melbourne’s Corner Hotel consisted mainly of tracks from their first release and shyed away from their latest. A bold move but I think most would agree that it was the right one.

To look at, the Howling Bells are just lovely. Their perfectly manicured scruff and swagger is so very aesthetically pleasing. With ambient, then ranging to disco lighting made it quite a transfixing show. Juanita Stein sashayed across the stage and held gazes the room wide. Her styled and beautiful looks were only upstaged by her near perfect vocals. Droning and thick and so easy on your ears, Stein makes an ethereal lead and carried the band through their hour long set. Although a general consensus seemed to be that this was a disappointingly short show considering it is the first Australian tour in two years, I felt it was punchy and avoided the possibility of boredom. As there were moments of monotone.

Besides the fact that they are so damn pretty, it was sometimes easy to forget that there were three other members to this group. They hung back and almost faded into ether, besides the occasional, or even one solo from Joel Stein (Ah, you Steins and your talented children). The evening felt like a solo act, which is not to say it is a positive nor a negative.

So another night well spent in Richmond and all wrapping up early enough to go and get festively hammered with your friends. Summer!

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