Released on 08/05/06
Label: Bella Union

Mazzy Star were pretty great, weren't they? Howling Bells certainly think so. The influence of Hope Sandoval's morbid lot is smeared all over "Howling Bells" like so much black lipstick, and the result is a debut album that couldn't be more sophisticated if it wore a beret and smoked filterless French cigarettes while reading Rimbaud by candelight in a subtitled black and white film short set in Montmartre.

Of course, raffish sophistication can sometimes be the enemy of exciting rock'n'roll (Tindersticks, anybody?) but Howling Bells steer clear of slickness and banality via their morbid preoccupation with life's darkest alleys and their - dare we say it - gothic leanings. Make no mistake: many of Juanita Stein's lyrics suggest she may be prone to the odd late-night stroll through the graveyard and / or goblet of wine amid the castle ruins. On "In the Woods", particularly, you can almost hear Nick Cave nodding approvingly in the background.

Those gothic leanings are more lyrical than musical, however. "Howling Bells" is notable for its depth and range, but broadly speaking these London-based Aussies have two types of songs. There are the slow numbers ("Bell Hit", "Ballad Of Bleeding Hearts", "Blessed Night") where the band drops away to allow Stein's vocal to dominate, and the somewhat rockier fare where she has to jockey for position with her brother's (and her own) effects-heavy guitars. Alternately languid and beseeching, Stein's honeyed tones are ever-easy on the ear - even when she's singing about an abusive relationship, as on "Broken Bones" - but it's fair to say that the Bells are at their best when playing as a band rather than singer-plus-supporting cast.

"Low Happening" is a case in point. As his sister growls a tale of mutual stalking and exploitation ("You watch me / I watch you / You use me / I use you"), Joel Stein unleashes a torrent of My Bloody Valentine-style guitar pyrotechnics, and the results are dazzling. Even better is the spine-tingling "Setting Sun", which floors you with its interlocking melodies and wrecking-ball sized chorus (very much the Bells' money-shot as far as commercial crossover is concerned, this one). Nor does the fun stop there: Sapphic love anthem, "Velvet Girl", finds the Bells successfully diversifying into raunchy rock'n'roll, while "Wishing Stone" is impressively sleek and propulsive.

Elsewhere, there are lulls when the Bells abandon menace and mischief in favour of mere melancholy, and moments when the phrase "dinner-party soundtrack" looms in the mind, but they're mercifully fleeting. And ultimately, "Howling Bells" is a record that may wear its influences on its sleeve, but will likely make Juanita Stein a (Mazzy) star in her own right.

    by Niall O'Keeffe