Howling Bells began writing for The Loudest Engine more than two years preceding its release while they supported Coldplay on the Viva la Vida Tour.

The band sought to capture more closely the essence of its debut album, Howling Bells, and retract from its technically inclined predecessor, Radio Wars.

Howling Bells characterized The Loudest Engine as a contemporary psychedelic endeavor which was reinforced by the atmosphere of their time spent in the Mojave Desert.

[4][11] Howling Bells expected the album to be released in 2010, but the record label(s) that the group was previously signed to, which included the UK-based Independiente, preferred the band to write material that it did not so desire.

[12][13] Recording sessions for The Loudest Engine took place at the Killers' Battle Born Studios, in Las Vegas, from September to October 2010.

While not recording, the band members at times ventured onto The Strip, but they also made an effort to experience Las Vegas as locals rather than merely a tourist destination.

[6][14] Howling Bells believed that their Las Vegas surroundings infused the spirit and the ambience of the desert and very much affected the outcome of the music.

[1] Photography for The Loudest Engine was by Heather Hyte, a friend of Stoermer's who spent a lot of time with Howling Bells in Las Vegas.

[17] The album was mixed by Robert Root at Battle Born Studios, and was mastered by Greg Calbi at Sterling Sound, in New York.

[20] The two other tracks were "Midnight Cowboy" and "Crossroads", a demo recorded at GFI Studios, in Ontario, New York during the Viva la Vida Tour.

[5][10] The instrumentation for the single originated when Juanita created a guitar riff and played it to Picchio, at which point he composed the bass parts.

[6] Luke McNaney of The Music Fix rated it 8/10 and praised the album, using terms like "swooning melodies", "beguilingly sexy rock", and "prowling guitars".

He too cited "Charlatan" and "Into the Sky" amongst their strongest efforts to date, and credited "Don't Run" and "The Faith" as the most tuneful songs from the album.

Jones concluded his review by stating "Howling Bells have more than earned our patience and show enough here to encourage its retention – the worry is whether they’re starting to run out of chances.

"[45] Chris Lo of BBC Music expressed positive feelings towards "The Wilderness" and "Invisible", but referred to "Gold Suns, White Guns" as a "Kate Bush-aping misstep", and claimed that overall the album felt "laboured and, at worst, contrived."

"[46] Sophie Williams of Stereoboard liked the vibe of "The Loudest Engine" (the title track), but was another critic who mentioned that the album seemed flat, and adding that it felt "almost distant".