Howling Bells

This type of thing happens in the UK all the time: band with familiar but fresh(-ish) sound forms, plays a handful of shows in London, someone from NME sees them and hails them as the next big thing, band scores record deal because of review, tours with Coldplay in Britain, yada, yada, yada. It transpires so often that this happened to Sydney, Australia's Howling Bells two years ago and you didn't even know about it. Radio Wars, Howling Bells' second album, sounds bigger and brasher in so many ways - gone is Juanita Stein's broody vocal moan that brought fans of the Sundays and Mazzy Star back into the clubs. Instead, Radio Wars is draped with pop-centric, cheer-led chants over a dynamic rhythm section, plucky piano, electro beats and blended guitar. Anyone upset with Emily Haines's slow transformation from disco killer to stadium lover should find solace in Radio Wars.