Howling Bells sauntered into the public’s eye in 2006, a year which saw the release of their critically acclaimed debut album and tours in support of the likes of Placebo and The Killers. Returning to the limelight briefly last year, The Bells released a limited edition 7″ single – ‘Into The Cahos’ – and followed it up by supporting Mercury Rev on their UK tour. Now they are well and truly back and ready to release their sophomore effort Radio Wars.
One of the most consistent releases that year, their self-titled debut felt like a serious record but was pretty and poppy too, the whole album felt solid and finely crafted. Radio Wars has highs that surpass any of those found on their debut but equally has troughs of greater magnitude too.
Standout tracks include the aforementioned and dreamy ‘Into The Cahos’ with it’s dizzying, swirling guitars and the album definitive ‘Digital Hearts’. With it’s pounding drums and catchy guitar lines it feels like it’s moving at a million miles an hour. But it has to be the outright rock simplicity of ‘Cities Burning Down’ that is truly the icing on the cake for this album. Sadly the midsection of the record drags a little and sticks out like a fat middle on an otherwise slender figure.
That said, it’s not all that noticeable and you’d be hard pressed to find a better follow up to a high quality debut album than this. The record feels bigger and urgent in some way, but it’s hard to put your finger on it. It’s the same old Bells who are there with sweet and charming harmonies like ‘Nightingale’ for instance and dashes of shoegaze, seen in ‘Treasure Hunt’, but there’s a lot more rock here than before too. It may be an obvious progression from them, but it sure is a finely executed one.
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