I am genuinely excited about School of Seven Bells' 2008. The band, in case you've missed the hype-machine, consists of Secret Machines/UFOFU mastermind Ben Curtis, as well as members of On!Air!Library! But the band comes together in a way that is something completely different from those bands, yet manages to sound like the kind of music you'd expect from the members of those bands. Face to Face On High Places is the band's three-song debut, and it's really damn good. It mixes dub and rock and pop and noise into this deliciously hot soup of aurally superior music. "Limb by Limb" is a herky-jerky, dubbed out pop song that's heavy on the drums, choppy on the vocals, and heavy on the intrigue. The next song, the title track, is a nine-minute all-out freakout that grows from percussive to seductive to totally blissed-out and noisy. "s.Ada.Licht" sounds like a Stereolab warm-up rehearsal. In other words, it sounds good. It sounds real good. And though I hate to be all obscure, these songs remind me of a 21st Century version of Smart Went Crazy. Without the male vocals. Yeah, there's no Ben Curtis singing on here. Don't fret, though; the songs on the band's Myspace page feature him...and as weird as it is to say, those songs are superior to the excellent songs found on this EP!
So yeah, School of Seven Bells is giving me cause to look forward to 2008.
Listen To: Various Tracks
Face to Face On High Places is available now on Table Of The ElementsLabels: cant wait for 2008, School of Seven Bells |
