Album Review: Death Bells - 'New Signs Of Life'
Death Bells pack nine post-punk songs into the twenty-seven minutes of their second album, but they don’t waste a moment on ‘New Signs of Life’.
Vocalist Will Canning and guitarist Remy Veselis formed Death Bells in 2015, and the project is currently based in LA. Fans of their 2017 album ‘Standing at the Edge of the World’ will enjoy the follow-up, while hopefully a wider audience will find their anthems this time around.
Opener ‘Heavenly Bodies’ is the record’s longest track, at three minutes 34 seconds in length. It’s a good overview of their sound, full of the crunchy guitars Death Bellsdo well, and guidance into the nostalgia which runs throughout when Will sings “everything we knew is fading”.
With the singer’s baritone voice, simple comparisons to Interpol’s Paul Banks will come with the territory. Will’s is a voice which delivers catchy hooks you will want to scream, whether it’s “the sky won’t clear for us” in ‘Heavenly Bodies’, or “lay down and wait” in ‘Two Thousand and Twenty’.
As the album glides through ‘Web of Love’ and ‘Sun That Shines Forever’, Remy’s jagged guitars feel vital.
It reaches a pinnacle in ‘A Different Kind of Happy’, about resilience in a changing environment. Will sings the perfect positive message to get us through this time - “despite the uncertainty of life, I wouldn’t give, I wouldn’t give up”. It’s capped off with a great sax performance over the end. ‘Alison’ continues the theme of love’s power in an insane world, a moment of calmness and focus in a world that is otherwise chaotic. In the last track, when Will sings “I’m shot down, I’m falling”, I hope it’s not reflective of Death Bells, as it feels like their star continues to rise, and deservedly so.
Death Bells’ DIY sensibilities have created a streamlined but effective sophomore. They take the conventions of post-punk and garage rock, the influence of 80s bands like Joy Division, and their 00s-era children like White Lies, to make something that feels pertinent to 2020.
‘New Signs of Life’ fits perfectly in a 2020 that remains unsure of itself. Five years into Death Bells, they continue to ring in the truth, and the tunes. The sombre guitar-driven rock takes the listener on a brief journey, but one that feels ultimately fulfilling.
Words by Samuel Draper