School of Seven Bells
This is one of those artists I love but for whatever peculiar reason never wrote much about. I did glow over them with Charles from White Lies in our interview last week, but I don’t think I’ve dedicated a post to them until now. For shame!
School of Seven Bells were recommended to me through another blogger who said they’d be up my alley as I was very fond of M83’s last effort. I’m glad they did, though I don’t think they’re that similar. This reminds me more of Stereolab or Stars, though maybe that’s a minor distinction/difference. SOSB just seem geared toward more structure than M83. They sound great, regardless of where they might fit on my musical playlist.
Part of the enveloping and lush sounds they produce should be credited to twin vocalists Alejandra and Claudia Deheza, who are showcased in this recently released video for ‘Half Asleep’. Not the most memorable video as videos go as it’s just shots of the two girls riding around in cars through Brooklyn, but there are some nifty camera effects/flares. Plus ‘Half Asleep’ is playing the entire time, and that song is so darn good it makes up for a limited video budget! :)
The band have a pretty spiffy special going on through The Ghostly Store right now – if you buy the vinyl of ‘Alpinisms’ (which is a special edition white vinyl limited to 1,000 copies) you also get the CD version of the album! I know Matador/Beggar’s Banquet does this with a lot of their vinyl (or at least provides a digital download), but really all record labels should be following suit. Adding value to your product really does make a difference to music lovers!
I will warn you, however, that they only offer UPS shipping, which kind of sucks. Even if you go Ground you’re still paying 8 dollars for shipping. Then again, most things I receive through the regular mail service aren’t treated with the greatest of care, so shipping vinyl through UPS might not be such a bad idea.
