Man, I love to hate on Pitchfork. And I have here with frequency— so I’ll spare ya the tirade.
But…crap. Today I totally agree with their review of School of Seven Bells’ sophomore release, “Disconnect From Desire.” I mean, they gave it an 8.0.
“SVIIB have since toured extensively, and their road-tripping appears to have made them more focused songwriters and performers. In the last two years they’ve not only coalesced into a band, but a band with a distinctive signature. That the flirtatious earworm “Bye Bye Bye” on new album, Disconnect from Desire, near-quotes “Soon”‘s hiccupping breakbeat seems appropriate somehow. SVIIB still work with a handful of shoegaze motifs, which they now use to highlight certain emotional states (typically turmoil and ambivalence). But it’s the band’s assertive pop melodies that prevail on their sophomore album.
Desire‘s lead track and first single “Windstorm” signals the transition as its instrumental drone slides into the Dehezas’ crystalline vocals. Far from fuzzy and undefined, the song draws clean, three and a half minute pop parameters. “Joviann” and “Babelonia” achieve similar results with intros, outros, and choruses drenched in atmospheric distortion that dissipates to reveal melodic throughways. “Heart Is Strange”, a marvelous club banger with the zeal and vivacity of Ladytron’s “Destroy Everything You Touch”, marks yet another shift in aesthetic priorities…”
Don’t take it from me—or from Pitchfork for that matter—decide for yourself as we’ve got”Disconnect From Desire” on vinyl for one of your mailboxes out there. Get at us in the comments to this post with your plea for the LP and the one that reaches 8.0 or higher will score the record.
And please—I can’t stress this enough—leave us a contact email address. You could pen a 10.0 comment but if we can’t let you about it, you’re outta luck.
We’ll choose our winner next Thursday, 7/22.
School of Seven Bells – Windstorm (Mp3)
School of Seven Bells – Babelonia (Mp3)
Authorized for download!
