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The arrival of Radio Wars to our First Spins roster is, alright, coming almost five months after it’s UK release date back in March. It takes time to get across the ocean, guys! But if a good thing is worth waiting for, then boy, do we ever have a treat for you!

Howling Bells could also be referred to as the little band that could, since in the last four years they’ve not only grabbed piles of critical acclaim, moved from one island (Australia) to another (England), and fought Coldplay for a producer, but also found the time to put out two pretty stellar albums.

Back in 2006, following their self-titled debut album, Howling Bells got a bunch of hugely positive reviews from all over the other side of the pond. Now they’re back with Radio Wars, which is a great upbeat little piece of electro-rock with clear-cut guitars and some solid percussion acting as spine and legs for moving this beast along. Juanita Stein’s vocals also provide a great counterpoint to the shiny synths and catchy handclap section on tracks like “It Ain’t You“, and “Cities Burning Down“.

For a change of pace, I’d also like to suggest “Golden Web“, which despite my arachnophobia (they keep talking about spider bites), has a great insistent bass line and the sort of oooh-oooh chorus of which I am particularly fond.

Despite being from the U.K., the Howling Bells don’t have a lot of that typical British-buzz-band schtick going on, just strong songs and solid melodies, which is very much a good thing.

Give Radio Wars a listen here!

Tags: coldplay, howling bells, radio wars

Posted on Thursday, July 23rd, 2009 at 3:21 pm by Jessica M and is filed under Blog.

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