Howling Bells

Australian indie rock band

Howling Bells are an Australian indie rock band that formed in London in 2004. The band obtained moderate popularity in the United Kingdom 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.

In 1999, Glenn Moule, Joel Stein, and Juanita Stein formed the pop rock group Waikiki. They toured the Australian eastern states as a trio and released an EP, Presents, in 2000. In 2002, with a rhythm guitarist, they issued the Top 50 album I'm Already Home. With four members, the band then toured Australia and New Zealand. Shortly thereafter, Brendan Picchio joined Waikiki as a bassist, and Juanita switched to rhythm guitar. The group soon became dissatisfied with its material, so the members chose a new direction for their music. They wrote a number of new songs and made a wish list of producers with whom they would like to work. In 2004, the band changed its name to Howling Bells, as its members felt that phrase better embodied its newly adapted indie rock style. 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. 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.

Howling Bells waited for almost a year while Nelson worked on Coldplay's X&Y album. Frustrated by the unforeseen delay, they considered returning to Australia. Howling Bells exhibited a brooding sound, and it was a departure from the poppier style of music demonstrated by Waikiki. The long delay and the experience of a cold British winter had affected the tone of their music. By July 2005, the band was not yet signed to a record label. 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 group played extensive UK club shows with many artists, including The Young Knives and Hank & Lily. Howling Bells also played Camden Crawl and the 2006 NME New Music Tour. The album was released in May 2006 in the United Kingdom on the Bella Union label and in Australia in July through Liberation. It received critical acclaim, including a perfect 5/5 from musicOMH. 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 Australian Albums Chart. 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. In its 22 March 2007 issue, Rolling Stone named Howling Bells one of their three bands to watch out for that year. 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. They supported Placebo in Europe and Australia and The Futureheads in the UK. The band also supported Mercury Rev, Snow Patrol, and The Killers across three different continents.|align= right |width= 15%

Howling Bells parted ways with Bella Union and, in 2008, signed a deal with record label Independiente. The band worked with producer and mixer Dan Grech Marguerat (Radiohead, Paul McCartney) and recorded its follow up album, Radio Wars, at several different recording studios. At times, the members found it difficult to work with their new producer. However, they have stated that in retrospect, they learned a great deal from him and felt fortunate for having the experience of collaborating with him. The album signalled a change in direction. The band's music had become brighter and more accessible and placed a greater emphasis on keyboards. Gigwise called it "an album of mashed up half ideas." In a positive review, ABC described it as "anthemic, edgy, stomping indie rock at its best." It peaked in the Top 30 in Australia and just outside the Top 50 in the UK. Howling Bells headlined a tour of the UK in March 2009, supported by The Joy Formidable and Chew Lips. The band played more festivals in Europe, including Hop Farm, Hard Rock Calling, and Pukkelpop. They supported Coldplay again for three nights of their European leg in August and September. Howling Bells received much praise from bands they supported on tour. Coldplay's Chris Martin advised his audiences to download Howling Bells' song "Nightingale." 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. She also placed among the top ten of Clash magazine's "Top Woman of 2009" list.

Howling Bells began writing material for The Loudest Engine in mid–2009, and expressed hope that 2010 would see the release of the album, but it did not. Juanita labelled the band's new writing as "real organic, real jammy very melodic, but very raw." In 2010, the band severed its partnership with Independiente and later negotiated a contract agreement with Cooking Vinyl. In September 2010, Howling Bells started recording The Loudest Engine at the Killers owned Battle Born Studios in Las Vegas. 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. 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 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. On the opposite end of the spectrum, NME rated it 2/10 and claimed that it "[fell] flat in a puddle of MOR." The Loudest Engine charted in both the UK and Australia. 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.

Heartstrings materialized following a brief hiatus by Howling Bells, whereupon the band members worked on other projects. Additionally, Juanita became a first time mother after giving birth. This, along with frustration from the long period of inactivity and creation inspired her and she started to write songs again, at which point she got the other members of the band involved. They made demos and sent them out to prospective producers, one being Alan Moulder (Nine Inch Nails, The Smashing Pumpkins). Moulder was busy at the time so he recommended that the band contact an assistant of his, Catherine J. Marks (Foals, The Killers), who after meeting, Howling Bells chose to produce the album. In November 2013, Howling Bells recorded Heartstrings at Assault & Battery Studios, in London. The album was primarily produced by Marks, but Moulder supported the effort and was given credit as co producer. 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. Heartstrings was released worldwide in June 2014. Q magazine rated it 3/5 and commented, "Heartstrings lacks the killer song that would bring Howling Bells the success they undoubtedly crave". 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.

The band became largely inactive through 2015 and 2016. In a Facebook post, Juanita Stein described the band's inactivity as "an unplanned hiatus" while also announcing her launch of a solo career. The band played their final show to date at the 2017 Margate Wonderland festival at Dreamland Margate, alongside The Kills and Carl Barât. 2017 also saw Joel Stein launch his solo project, Glassmaps. Its debut album, Strangely Addicted, was released in November of that year. Juanita Stein has released three solo albums to date: 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.