aaamusic | On 30, Jun 2011

THE LOUDEST ENGINE

NEW ALBUM RELEASED SEPTEMBER 12th

UK TOUR DATES ANNOUNCED

Howling Bells will release their new album on September 12th on Cooking Vinyl. Recorded in Las Vegas with The Killers’ Mark Stoermer producing, The Loudest Engine will be preceded by a clutch of live shows, including a London date at the Electric Ballroom on September 15th.

A raw, psychedelic third studio album, and the sequel to 2009’s Radio Wars, the recording of The Loudest Engine saw Howling Bells, the Australian-formed, London-based four piece comprising singer/ guitarist Juanita Stein and her brother Joel (lead guitarist), drummer Glenn Moule, and bassist Brendan Picchio – forge a sonic union with Nevada’s expansive surroundings and Las Vegas’s street-soiled vibe.

Howling Bells’ desert sessions were the final part of a year-long writing adventure that saw the band, on their own tours and with the likes of Coldplay and The Killers, wander through strange American outposts and seedy European back streets in their downtime. Their travels provided endless lyrical inspiration; much of The Loudest Engine was written on the road.

Listen to a first taster off the album, title track “The Loudest Engine”
Loudest Engine by The Loudest Engine

It was on the road that Howling Bells first linked with The Killers’ Mark Stoermer. Touring together, the two groups bonded over their love of similar music; so, when Howling Bells began planning the recording of their latest project at the tail end of summer 2010, The Killers’ bassist was the first person they called.

With Stoermer at the dials, Howling Bells worked with a creative spirit they’d not channeled previously. They’d already worked up 30 fresh demos, but in The Killers’ Battle Born studio in Nevada, these sketches were fleshed out, given new muscle. The result is 12 songs that burn with a ferocious intensity, clipping garage blues (Charlatan) to end of the world freak outs (The Wilderness) and heart-bruised laments (Into The Sky). This is an album Howling Bells were eager to make.

Says Stein of the album, “There’s a singular sound which is more folk and rock than our last two albums, but it’s interpreted in a modern sense. It wasn’t a conscious effort to make a ’70s tinged record. It was a very natural progression.

“The album shows that we’re we’re 21st century kids making a modern psychedelic record. [It] is our grown up record. The first was about that great initial leap, the second was us exploring different waters. This one is us, all having met at one place, at one time. I think this record will change people’s perspectives of the band.”

HOWLING BELLS LIVE:

Weds 14th SEPTEMBER – PORTSMOUTH, WEDGEWOOD ROOMS

Thurs 15th – LONDON, ELECTRIC BALLROOM

Fri 16th – SHEFFIELD, PLUG

Sun 18th – LEEDS, COCKPIT

Mon 19th – GLASGOW, ORAN MOR

Tues 20th – MANCHESTER, ACADEMY 3

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