Howling Bells - Influences and Musical Style

Influences and Musical Style

Members of Howling Bells have cited The Beatles, Charles Mingus, Peter Green, Vinnie Colaiuta, and Jimi Hendrix as influences. The catalyst for the change from Waikiki to Howling Bells was Juanita and Joel's trip to see Black Rebel Motorcycle Club in Australia. They saw this band shrouded in red lights, and it created an atmosphere that inspired them to alter their musical direction. The band's style has been compared to that of PJ Harvey, The Velvet Underground, Nick Cave, Mazzy Star, and The Duke Spirit. Their music has been called folk rock, melodic blues, and country-goth. Juanita disagrees with the group's gothic characterization.

For to romanticize this sense of darkness ... It’s just the music we like.

“ ” –Juanita Stein referring to being labelled as "Goth"

The style of Howling Bells was greatly influenced by film. The Steins and Picchio have expressed admiration of French films in particular. Juanita has stated that she enjoyed bringing the strange and ethereal energy from those films into their music. To describe the sound of Howling Bells' debut album, critics used terms like dark, brooding, and Americana. NME described it as "the sound of PJ Harvey hitching a ride with The Velvet Underground through Twin Peaks."

The second album, Radio Wars, in which the band experimented with synthesizers and drum machines, had a more electronic pop sound. They also incorporated arrangements of string and brass into the album. Their goals were to make a different kind of record by exploring other genres of music and to create something more insightful and futuristic. Not unlike the first record, Radio Wars contained elements of dark subject matter. "Cities Burning Down," the darkest track from the album, was a song that Juanita and Moule wrote together. Its lyrics were inspired by the apocalyptic sound of the music, which they created first.

The Loudest Engine features a sound adapted to the genres of folk and rock, more so than the previous two Howling Bells records. Juanita explained that the band relied less on the sound technology that was prominent in Radio Wars, instead returning to the more organic state of Howling Bells. For the new album, Joel was inspired by prog rock and krautrock acts such as Amon Düül and Aphrodite's Child. Howling Bells were inspired by The Doors documentary When You're Strange, which the members watched just before beginning to record The Loudest Engine.