Howling Bells prove on their self-titled debut to be more than bargained for; for those expecting another version of Waikiki, guess again. Howling Bells are more interesting than the said group from whose ashes they formed, layering their songs with depth and emotion.

This is what you do when you decide you don’t like the direction or the expectation of where you’re going. Instead of struggling along under the Waikiki moniker and pretending that everything was sunny and happy (as their songs suggested), Juanita Stein and cohorts changed tack remarkably and became Howling Bells. Decamping to the UK allowed them that fresh start, where their music might not be derided for their past.

Songs like single “Low Happening” and the excellent “The Night is Young” cleverly couple the pop hooks that made Waikiki a perfectly decent pop-rock group with a darker undertow that makes Howling Bells a much more exciting proposition. A couple of other songs are fairly nondescript, but the influence of the likes of post-shoegazer groups like Mazzy Star is clear to hear, and a solid pop sheen is given to the songs courtesy of Coldplay producer Ken Nelson.

It means that Howling Bells is a catchy album, certainly, but one with the layers that the group’s previous incarnation lacked. It also helps that Stein, as a lyricist, is stripping herself bare throughout the course of the album, and there’s a depth and emotional vulnerability apparent here that was never there before. Whilst the kudos the band are achieving in the UK is more than a touch hyperbolic, there’s no doubting that this debut is a strong beginning for the band, and you get the impression that Howling Bells are merely going to get better from here on in.