They smear their music gently using rectangular vocals (synaesthetically speaking) and the frilly distorted harmonies I'm so keen on. If I mention Coldplay, will you leave? Oh bother. Well don't because Setting Sun is the track that reminds me of Coldplay before they went all U2 on us. Beautifully eroded by country-inspired sounds, it's amplified by the guitar distort - rhythm section relationship that made Coldplay so mesmerizing at first. That being the musical backdrop, I couldn't picture the song without Juanita Stein's vocals. Think PJ Harvey on downers. I don't even have to hear the lyrics and her voice tells me a story. Howling Bells are an Australian band, I maybe should have started with that.
Recorded with renowned Coldplay (sic) producer Ken Nelson.
Musical influences include the likes of Johnny Cash, Tom Waits, Kate Bush, Loretta Lynn, Mazzy Star and My Bloody Valentine…
Films have also been a big influence on the sound and style of Howling
Bells and their music has a widescreen, cinematic quality. One writer
recently coined the term "indie noir" to describe their sound.
Alongside the work of David Lynch, films such as "Amelie", " Paris ,
Texas ", "Rumblefish"," and "Gadjo Dilo" have helped shape the bands
aesthetic.
I generally associate music with colours. For Amy Beach it was like a mnemotechnique for "complex harmonizations". Here's how she saw the notes, literally:
- Blue - Ab
- Green - A
- Pink - Eb
- Violet - Db
- White - C
- Red - G
- Yelllow - E
- Black - F# minor or G# minor
I see Guillemots as swirly and sandy white, for instance. Howling Bells are some kind of red, maybe crimson.
Howling Bells - This City's Burning mp3
Howling Bells - Low Happening mp3
Howling Bells - Setting Sun mp3 (*swoon)
Howling Bells - Velvet Girl mp3
For the guy who googled his way onto this blog, with the search string "what should i call my band" or something in the like, it depends what you're going for with your music but I personally like the sound of Phantom Limbs. I'd review a band named Phantom Limb, I would.
Further reading: synaesthesia
Howling Bells official site
MySpace
Buy Howling Bells Digipack (whatever that is)
