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Aug 06, 2009 Web Exclusive By Michele Yamamoto

As the band’s name might suggest, there’s a dark stain to U.K.-by-way-of-Australia rockers, Howling Bells. Even lead singer Juanita Stein has the youthful timbre of Eisley’s Stacey DuPree, with an added touch of confidence and maturity.

The album’s first single, “Cities Burning Down,” begins with a fade—thereby slowly creating and then eliminating the distance between the listener and the song. It goes on to maintain elements of shoegaze along the vein of My Bloody Valentine with a decidedly more straightforward pop sensibility. Yet, even in their more stable pop moments, the band maintains a melancholic darkness of tone and doesn’t settle for straight pop. Their harmonic changes often inspire a moody undercurrent, pushing the song just off the beaten path.

An interesting component of this album is the presence of a buried treasure from days long gone, a remnant of the pre-digital age—a hidden track. After the aptly titled “How Long” lapses into silence for several minutes, a song of a different color emerges.

Howling Bells’ sophomore effort, Radio Wars, paints the band as capable and stylish, and the album sticks without forfeiting much to stifling considerations of catchiness. (www.myspace.com/howlingbells)

Author rating: 6/10