School Of Seven Bells are a band you must hear. Despite hailing from Brooklyn, the bands sound could easily be linked up with a series of minimalist electronica act gracing Northern Europe at the moment. A listen to their 2008 debut ‘Alpinisms’ evokes the glacial scenery of British duo Goldfrapp, the detached danceability of New Order’s and the emotional delivery and production values of Bat For Lashes.
What makes SVIIB unique is the combination of intricate melodies provided by the Deheza sisters and dashed sparingly across the tracks. ‘Alpinisms’ is an album that is representative of vast melodic landscapes rather than individual tracks and single material.
There is a feeling that the song writing process must have occurred in very organic fashion with the band not over elaborating and obsessing over their ideas so as to avoid diverting too far from their raw sketches. In contrast a lot of attention has been devoted to the production values of the album to excellent results.
In anticipation of their new album ‘Disconnect From Desire’ (due in 2010) the band released ‘The Deluxe Edition’ of ‘Alpinisms’ last month. This is a it is a good window into the bands thought process covering the original 11 tracks plus an additional 9 tracks that include alternate versions, new mixes and a live cut. It also helps to explain why Ben Curtis was both eager and willing to forsake Secret Machines to work on this exciting project.
TRACK:
School Of Seven Bells – Iamundernodisguise
