Twelve years is a long time between releases, but Kate Bush doesn’t have the monopoly in disappearing for that long, since ‘Strange Life’ – the first new Howling Bells album since 2014 – marks a long overdue return for the Aussie dream pop trio. Despite the passing years, the record’s eleven tracks actually sound like a perfect continuation from previous releases, and although this may seem a little safe, it results in an album that fans will take to in a heartbeat, and will introduce those who missed the band the first time around to a set of songs that’s almost guaranteed they’ll backtrack.

‘Unbroken’ opens the record with a thin sounding, echoing rhythm guitar, tapping effortlessly into a 90s indie sound. Bringing in a little distortion, the guitars drop into a shoegaze-ish sonic swirl not far removed from classic Lush, capturing the Howling Bells’ tougher edge. This works well during a dense sounding chorus where Juanita Stein uses an airy voice to contrast the rock – reaching peak when she augments a great melody with light, wordless “oohs” – but the number really comes to life during its rather simpler verse. Between the dreamrock riffing, the melody latches onto a swooning, lax mood that suits the vocal perfectly, and to stop everything floating into the ether, a warm, dancing bassline anchors everything effortlessly. If you’re halfway into the Howling Bells sound, they’ll grab you here and not let go, making the next half’s listening experience an hour an absolute joy.

Picking up the tempo a little, thanks to a stronger drum part, ‘Heavy Lifting’ is fantastic. This alternative rock number uses a very 90s sounding breakbeat in an almost baggy-ish fashion to set up an unwavering groove and then layers that with a lot of flawlessly applied sounds. The verse offers a slightly jangly quality, fusing retro indie with a touch of pop – again, allowing Stein plenty of room to deliver a clear dreampop vocal – before the band bring in a slightly heavier, swirling sound for the chorus. As before, there’s more of a shoegaze vibe, but without losing any of the strong melodic elements that have been set in place, and without sounding like a carbon copy of the previous track. There’s also time enough for a slightly angular sounding solo, pulling the poppier elements towards something a little artier. ‘Angel’ shifts the mood to something even quirkier when the indie rock backdrop falls into an unsettling carny inspired melody, its waltzing time signature giving the guitars plenty to work with. Despite the music clearly leaning towards something to make the listener feel uneasy, Juanita’s crystal clear vocal tones continue to feel friendly and almost dreamlike, and when hitting full cry on a big huge chorus hook, the slight vibrato calls back to the legendary Siouxsie Sioux, bringing more of a light gothy edge to the Howling Bells universe. Really captilising on the darker feel, guitarist Joel Stein drops in a surprisingly bluesy lead guitar which, again, gives a feeling of a band who are able to use different musical colourants very effectively without drawing away from a recognisable signature sound. This might take a few more listens to embed itself, but when it does, it has the potential to be an album highlight.

As if to deliberately pull things back from a moodier place, ‘Looking Glass’ blends descending organ riffs to a classic dreampop haze, mixing the louder keys with a shimmering, filtered vocal in a way that, surprisingly doesn’t feel jarring. There are still a couple of faint echoes of Siouxsie on the deeper notes, but the bulk of the vocal – especially the really breathy, wordless notes that lead into each verse – are classic Howling Bells. It’s another great track, but it’s outshone by ‘Chimera’, which brings the best out of the trio’s sound on a performance that works a brilliant almost percussive keyboard loop over a light, almost airy goth pop melody, giving Juanita a strong musical backdrop. As with a lot of the material here, the music is great, but it’s her voice that’s the real star, moving between a light dream pop delivery on the verse, then exploding into an alt-pop melody on the chorus that makes Howling Bells appear almost Sundays-esque. If you’re already a fan, this will be an instant love. If the band are unfamiliar to you, this should be interesting enough to win your affections.

‘Melbourne’ offers the listener something a little more upbeat, at times sounding a little like something from Jenny Lewis’s earlier years. The slight shift in tone is certainly welcome, but fans will still be entranced by a couple of Howling Bells hallmarks, namely a thoughtfully placed ringing guitar offering a great counterpoint to a breathy vocal and an all round optimistic feel that makes some old school indie vibes appear surprisingly fresh. There isn’t always much here that sounds like a massive leap for the band stylistically, but simply put, this is wonderful, and if you have even the faintest liking of Howling Bells, you’ll be absolutely drawn to this song. Also taking a more upbeat stance, even a rocky approach by HB standards, ‘Sacred Land’ puts drummer Glenn Moule front and centre as he pounds his snare repeatedly, capturing the primal edge of ‘The Scream’ era Banshees, which also allows Joel more of an opportunity to drop in dark, almost bluesy guitar lines, before swamping the performance with a denser guitar sound befitting of the tougher mood. The hugely goth inspired Howling Bells don’t always summon the huge charm of their dreamier side, but in terms of capturing some of the potential within the interplay between Joel and Glenn, it works well.

At the tail end of a great album, ‘Sweet Relief’ introduces a few garage rock guitar tones and some great tom work driving another great rocky performance, but in a marked difference from ‘Sacred Land’, the lighter vocals allow this to feel like more of a natural part of the band’s dreampop/dreamrock soundscapes, especially once Juanita hits a few shimmering, higher registers during the middle eight. In closing, the light distortion and fuzzy tones cutting through the centre of the title cut make Howling Bells sound more like a post-grunge throwback with heavy influences from bands like Jale and Veruca Salt, while some great bluesy leads from Joel provide an important link with a couple of the album’s earlier tracks. With its focus on louder guitars and swirling organ melodies, this feels like a rather downbeat way to bow out, but in time, and with a little extra volume applied, this will grow into another fan favourite.

A lot can happen in the space of a decade. Tastes change; genres shift. …And yet, there’s something rather thrilling about Howling Bells’ comfort blanket approach. The trio clearly know their strengths and play to them throughout ‘Strange Life’, creating a record that makes it feel as if they’ve never been away. This is worth checking out for ‘Melbourne’ and ‘Heavy Lifting’, but the whole record makes for recommended listening.

February 2026