[7] In 1998, having signed a multi-album deal with PolyGram and releasing two top-20 singles, Rice quit the band just as Juniper were preparing to record their debut LP in France.
[8] With a body of songs already accumulated, the remaining four members decided to continue, with Noonan swapping drums for vocals and Paul "Binzer" Brennan coming in on percussion duties.
[10] Juniper's original contract with Polygram Ireland was moved to Island Records UK,[11] and the band released their debut LP, Neither Am I on 13 October 2000.
[14] They entered Ridge Farm Studio in Surrey, England in 2002 with producer Jamie Cullum[14] and released Music In Mouth in July 2003 in Ireland and then the UK on Island.
[4] Taking its title from a line in the poem "The Planter's Daughter" by Austin Clarke, the album received positive reviews and the band began to perform support slots with Snow Patrol, Starsailor, Keane, Aqualung and Tom McRae.
[17] Hot Press magazine described the record as "more unified, distinctive and cohesive" offering than Neither Am I that showcased the band's "multiple directions",[18] while Entertainment.ie claimed that the album should see Bell X1 at the forefront of a new Dublin rock movement.
In June of that year, the band recorded a live session for Nic Harcourt's Morning Becomes Eclectic radio show on KCRW in Los Angeles.
[24] The Boston Globe deemed that the record displayed the group's "musicality and charm",[25] while RTÉ's Kate Moten described the album as "an accomplished collection from a clever and inventive band, whose talent deserves heapings of praise".
[26] Following a sold-out performance in Dublin's 5,000-capacity RDS Main Hall on 31 January 2006,[27] the band released "Flame", which entered the Irish singles charts at No.12 that March.
George Whyte of the Irish Independent reported that Bell X1 "received a more passionate welcome than anyone else" during their Main Stage appearance at Oxegen music festival that summer.
[13] Flock was subsequently released in Europe and the US in Spring 2008, the latter territory given a rejigged tracklist that incorporated "Eve, The Apple Of My Eye" in order to springboard the band to wider attention stateside.
[31] In June 2007, to coincide with becoming the first Irish act to headline Dublin's Malahide Castle,[32] the group put out Tour de Flock, a two-disc concert album and live DVD of Bell X1’s sold-out Point Theatre homecoming show the previous December.
[36] Bell X1 would return to North America for a fourth time in 2008 as special guests of Canadian indie act Stars on their September tour.
Shortly afterwards, in October, founding member Brian Crosby announced that he was parting ways with the band to pursue a career as a producer and film composer.
[48] Billboard described the album as having "cold, wonderous Radiohead-esque moments within a warmer sound all their own"[49] while NPR praised the record's "artfully constructed songs and offbeat lyrics".
[59] After some dates in the US at the end of the Summer – including the Austin City Limits Festival[60] – the band returned to Ireland for two sell-out homecoming shows in Dublin's Olympia Theatre[61] as well as a live session at Other Voices (broadcast in early 2010).
[63] Bloodless Coup was recorded in Grouse Lodge studios in Ireland with Rob Kirwan (Depeche Mode, PJ Harvey, Hozier), a longtime friend of the band from the Juniper days.
Members of the band had recently begun families while at the same time seeing friends losing their own parents, a theme touched upon in "Built To Last", "Nightwatchmen" and "74 swans".
[64] Songs like "Sugar High" as well as the very album title itself, meanwhile, saw Noonan reflect on the perversities and injustices of the harsh economic downturn that had recently hit Ireland.
[70] The Sunday Times named Bloodless Coup its CD of The Week in a 5 star review,[71] while the Boston Herald gave the record an "A" grading, calling the songwriting and playing "superb".
[73] Besides extensive touring in Europe and the US, Bell X1 played headline shows that year in Marlay Park, Galway Arts Festival and Cork's Live At The Marquee.
[63] The band added a date at Dublin's Olympia Theatre to their winter tour in order to stage a benefit concert for homeless charity Capuchin Day Centre.
Hot Press magazine praised the album, calling it "an essential purchase for both fans and newcomers alike… It reminds you once again just what a great songwriter Paul Noonan is, with his carefully crafted miniatures about love and life.
[82] Unlike Bloodless Coup, there was no overarching thematic thread to Noonan's lyrics this time but the song "A Thousand Little Downers" did touch on some of the social commentary themes found in the previous record.
To connect with their audience while promoting the release in Ireland, the band opened "Pop-up shops" at 10 different venues on the tour where fans could access vouchers to attend special acoustic sets.
[101] In its review of the album, Hot Press magazine noted that "The Upswing" (released as single four months ahead of Arms) was "Bell X1 at their melancholic moodiest, but still optimistic and hopeful", while "I'll Go Where You Go" was addressing the concerns of being a touring musician and parent at the same time.
This included a five-night residency in Dublin's Vicar Street 21–25 March 2018, with the first three nights featuring a classic album played in full – Neither Am I, Music In Mouth and Flock – and the final two comprising a greatest hits set and an acoustic evening, respectively.
[111] They played a headline outdoor show at King John's Castle in July 2019 in the full-band format, as well as a major date at the Galway Arts Festival.
Over the years, Paul Noonan has appeared on a number of side projects and as a guest musician (usually percussion and vocals) for fellow artists such as Cathy Davey and Gemma Hayes.
[120] In May 2014, a self-titled debut album was released featuring collaborations with Joan As Policewoman, Martha Wainwright, Gemma Hayes, Amy Millan, Julia Stone, Lisa Hannigan, Danielle Harrison, Cathy Davey, Maria Doyle Kennedy and fiddler Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh.