Howling Bells - 'Low Happening' (Bella Union) Released 05/03/07

With Beth Ditto championing the female cause with endless, fabulous and unflinching rants on being fat and gay, it really may be time to hand things over to the girls again.  If you haven’t heard ‘Low Happening’ yet, then you are probably deaf, exceptionally stupid or rather unfortunate.  Brooding, dark, glamorous and sexy just doesn’t cover it: this single is simply brilliant.  Primal, ominous drumming and grating distortion are the perfect drama-steeped background to Stein’s Blondie-esque, powerful vocals.  ‘Low Happening’ is a track with looks-could-kill attitude.  It’s like the musical embodiment one of those girls dressed like a Hitchcock heroine in the corner; the one who looks suitably bored and bemused, all simmering moroseness and passion.  She’s icy and cool until she delicately plants a Martini glass on the indie-haircut of her love-rat fiancé. She tops off the trickle of blood with an olive and a perfectly scarlet pout.