Death Bells root for the unfamiliar on Between Here & Everywhere

Will Canning and Remy Veselis uncannily capture a melancholic range set midway between ‘80s trailblazers such as Echo & the Bunnymen and more modern iterations of the genre akin to Interpol, their second album amplifying the new wave scope that stamped their debut. Coupling synth scores with an increasing guitar-geared emphasis and blasts from leftfield, Between Here & Everywhere is an excursion into the peripheries, a product of the pair’s last few years spent in California, where relocation from Australia prompted not just a change in scenery but a cultural recalibration.

Volatile sonic terrain mirrors a travelogue of experiences that, although not autobiographical, find loose inspiration in the American experience, specifically the paraphernalia and idiosyncrasies of Los Angeles. The satellite fringes of the city and cults wind their way lyrically into the album’s hinterland, off-road treks that shape its thematic pull. “Hysteria” steps into this underbelly, writhing in jagged guitar stabs, skirting between the Cure and Black Marble for reference; the icily stark architecture of “Lifespring” runs counter to the optimism of its title in namechecking a sinister sect, set to blistering synth palpitations and throbbing percussion. New stringed inflections are introduced on “Intruder”, an acid western skewing score that finds continuity in the brooding tenor of Canning’s vocals.

In their seven years together as a unit, the pair have retained their signature gloom-pop credentials, gently tweaking around the edges, incrementally pushing further with the arrival of each release. An orchestral backdrop and operatic vocals frame the title track in an indication of the record’s disruptive path. Such moments see the outfit up the ante in a nuanced, less oblique stance on a third album that finds Death Bells avoiding complacence and rooting for the unfamiliar.