One of our favourite bands Howling Bells return after a break of almost three years with a new track ‘Slowburn’ which is anything but and engages the ears from the off, it’s the first track to emerge from their forth studio album ‘Heartstrings’, which is out on the 2nd June and has singer Juanita Stein sounding at her imperious and seductive best. ‘Slowburn’ also has the edgy dark sonic thunder, which was very much in evidence on their classic début.
After two excellent somewhat experimental albums ‘Radio Wars’ and ‘The Loudest Engine’, which expanded their sonic palette this sounds very much, like a band getting back to basics. Not in a regressive way, but distilling all they’ve learnt in their time together and finding fresh impetus. The band recorded ‘Heartstrings’ over a period of eleven days laying down a track a day a process which really shaped the albums sound as singer Juanita Stein says ‘ Having a deadline means you’re forced to make crucial artistic decisions in a very short time. You don’t have the luxury of overthinking.’ And if ‘Slowburn’ is indicative of what we can expect from the album then it seems Howling Bells have captured the spark, the spontaneity, the lightning in a bottle that has always marked them out as being one of THE must see live acts. Ten years on and still brilliant!
The band will celebrate the release of the single with a live show at London’s Oslo, also on 7th April.
The full tracklisting for ‘Heartstrings’ is: Paris; Possessed; Your Love; Slowburn; Tornado; Euphoria; Paper Heart; Original Sin; Reverie; Heartstrings.
