Twenty years after the release of one of the most captivating albums of the 2000s, Howling Bells announce the 20th Anniversary Edition of their self-titled debut album, released on 2nd October via Nude Records. To mark the occasion, the band will perform a special anniversary show at Hoxton Hall, London, on Friday 6 November 2026. Tickets will go on general sale here on Friday 17th July at 10am BST.
Originally released in 2006, ‘Howling Bells‘ marked a striking debut for the Australian band. Produced by Grammy Award-winning Ken Nelson (Coldplay, Gomez, The Charlatans), the album introduced their cinematic blend of darkly romantic songwriting, atmospheric guitars, and Juanita Stein’s unmistakable vocals. Hailed upon release as a modern alternative classic, Pitchfork praised Stein’s “thoroughly unexpected, confidently strange, and immediately commanding” voice, while NME simply called it “an extraordinary album.” The Guardian described it as “bruising, narcotised rock’n’roll, refracted through the bottom of a glass, darkly… on the verge of unequivocal magnificence”. MOJO celebrated “an utterly flawless, heart-twisting vocal throughout,” praising her ability to turn “tales of sorrow and betrayal” into “something exquisite,” and Clash observed that “it’s the voice that grabs you,” calling it “a wonderfully lucid piece of songwriting, emotion lingering on each note.”
For the first time ever, ‘Howling Bells’ will be available on vinyl, with two special editions released to mark the album’s 20th anniversary.
Juanita explains: “The album that launched us into the musical cosmos, the album that took us to thousands of venues across the world, the album that allowed us to forge deep connections with many a wonderful human along the way, musicians and lovers of music. The album that has taught us so much about ourselves. We wanted to retain the spirit of this record on vinyl and for us that meant not changing a thing, the same haunting artwork and that same sonic atmosphere and urgency etched deep into the grooves of that vinyl forever. As a special treat, we tried recording a couple new songs to accompany the album, a thank you note, but turns out, it just didn’t feel right, like the songs were too modern or something. We then went deep diving into the musical archives, looking for the original demos for the album. Weirdly, there seems to be some kind of glitch in our musical history, where all the demos leading up to the release have completely disappeared. We asked everyone we could, who worked with us at the time, to also go digging, but nothing”
She adds: “In a last ditch attempt to retrieve something magical from that time, I discovered a dusty tote bag full of cassette tapes and CDs … magic! What I found was something even earlier than the album demos, my very first bedroom recordings of both The Bell Hit and The Night Is Young. How I recorded all my demos and still do! Myself, a guitar, bass, keys and harmonies. As well, I discovered a couple songs from around the time of writing for the album, Hold On and Sunken Eyes. Listening back today, I appreciate just how special these 4 demos are, they capture a potent energy and a youthful ambition indicative of that time. And so, we have had these tracks mastered for you on a bonus 7 inch to accompany the Dinked re-release”
The band has now shared a preview of ‘The Night Is Young’, one of the previously unreleased demos, accompanied by a new video. “This video is a love letter of sorts to the Sydney we grew up in — the early 2000s, Bondi Beach and the inner city — where the three of us would write and play music together in between working, studying and surfing (well, Joel anyways)”, explains Juanita, “It’s about the first music venues we played at, the skaters we’d watch on the beach, our community of pals who chipped in to record videos and take photographs, the all-ages shows we went to, the city that gladly housed our youthful ambition”.
DELUXE DINKED ARCHIVE EDITION (NUDE30LPD)
A highly collectible limited edition package featuring:
Eco-mix recycled marble vinyl
Exclusive 4-track 7″ featuring previously unreleased demos
Exclusive band photo print from the band’s very first photo shoot in Sydney
Exclusive signed art
Exclusive 7″ Track Listing
Side A
The Bell Hit (Bedroom demo 2003)
Highway 99 (Demo 2004)
Side B
Night Is Young (Bedroom demo 2003)
Sunken Eyes (Demo 2004)
STANDARD EDITION (NUDE30LP)
Burgundy coloured vinyl
PRE-ORDER AVAILABLE HERE AND AT ROUGH TRADE
Photo Credit: Epizentrum