School of Seven Bells – ‘Disconnect from desire’ (Vagrant records)
It’s now over twenty years since what many would consider the first shoegazing record, My Bloody Valentine’s isn’t Anything. Although it was by and large a British phenomenon originally, the Americans dubbed it dreampop, which was perhaps a better name, and which also spawned the current vogue for hymnagogic pop over the pond. School of Seven Bells’ last album Alpinisms had its’ moments but I feel they’ve made a quantum leap with their latest record.
Right from the off with recent single ‘Windstorm’ this is an album that begs for repeated playing. Not because it’s hard to get into -on the contrary- but because it’s the audio equivalent of moor-ish. once is never enough. If second track ‘Heart is Strange’ seems weak afterwards, persevere. because there are so many nuggets here, like ‘Bye Bye Bye’ and ‘Babelonia’ to name just two others that it really won’t matter.
The Brooklyn trio have delivered an album that continues their development of the shoegazing sound with some gorgeous electronica and I hope will prove not only a critical and blogger success, but also a long deserved commercial one, too.
Long may they flourish.
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Disconnect from desire is out now.