Live Review: Howling Bells, Ali Barter

Ali Barter saunters onstage accompanied by three long-haired gents. Barter looks like she is dressed for a funeral, but her banter is quirky and lively.

Barter begins to sing loftily, then her shaggy sidekicks trigger a dense backdrop that complements the songstress. The band play a new track, which encompasses a great solo and a Frusciante-esque guitar face from Neil Wilkinson.

Howling Bells strut onto the Howler stage, a fittingly named port for the band. “Good evening,” Juanita Stein announces and the band rip into their set.

Opener Paris sees a delayed riff, pumping kick and Stein swaying dreamily up against the microphone. The next track sounds stale and polished, lacking conviction. Stein’s continued swaying through Blessed Night becomes tiresome, then thankfully the cloud over the room totally lifts when the band begin A Ballad For The Bleeding Hearts: the frontwoman showcases sizzling vocals, brother/guitarist Joel Stein utilises a fluctuating tremolo tone and drummer Glenn Moule changes to brushes on the kit. Then comes the unoriginally titled Original Sin, during which Juanita Stein shows great conviction in her tightly executed vocal melody. She then strides over to jam with her brother before moving across to riff with bassist Gary Daines.

Joel Stein begins Your Love with an e-bow on his electric guitar, but that track’s predictable riff and unimaginative lyrics (“Your love, Your love, Your love, Your love, Your love, Your love/Our love, Our love, Our love, Our love, Our love”) are stagnant as the xylophone backing track compounds the tedium. The band’s frontwoman states, “You’re very well behaved, Melbourne,” which seems more of a challenge to the quiet crowd and elicits gratuitous, “Whoo!” and, “I love you Juanita!” remarks. The band progress to Cities Burning Down, heads start to bop for the first time and Howling Bells move around more fluidly onstage. “We all went to see Kanye West last night,” Juanita Stein announces (which activates mixed reactions from the crowd). “Well, except for Joel. He slept – I think he made the right decision.” The crowd eat up her humour as Setting Sun begins; the track ebbs and flows, invigorating the devoted punters. When we’re introduced to the band’s newest member, Daines, we hear the immediate ocker response, “Onya, Gazza,” from within the crowd and Stein chuckles back, “Gary has been Aussiefied”. Moule begins a great tom beat, the band enter into Low Happening and the audience sing along enthusiastically before Howling Bells triumphantly leave the stage.

Howling Bells, having played their most well-known songs, keep the crowd guessing in terms of an encore. Then Juanita Stein and Moule return to the stage to courageously sing Paper Heart with a deliciously tender piano backing.