Alpinisms School of Seven Bells Ghostly Int’l Records Rocks like: M83, My Bloody Valentine … Alpinisms School of Seven Bells Ghostly Int’l Records Rocks like: M83, My Bloody Valentine B ‘ ‘ ‘ School of Seven Bells hasn’t been around long, but that doesn’t mean the members haven’t been making music for awhile. In fact, the trio, consisting of twins and former On! Air! Library! members Alejandra and Claudia Deheza and ex-Secret Machines guitarist Benjamin Curtis, met while playing in separate bands but all opening for Interpol. Curtis left the Machines and joined up with the girls to create SVIIB in 2007, and they’ve been making the music of heavily electronic influenced shoegaze every since.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ Fans of Secret Machines who are grieving the relatively recent loss of its original guitarist can take some solace in Curtis’ new venture.’ The music of Alpinisms, SVIIB’s first full-length album, has some stylistic similarities to classic Machines, using a blend of vocals and instrumentals to create droning melodies. As a whole, though, Alpinisms is something very different.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ The sound can undoubtedly be labeled shoegaze, since the ethereal vocals and somewhat distorted background noise are reminiscent of shoegaze veterans My Bloody Valentine and Cocteau Twins. Alpinisms brings more of an electric sound to the table, leaving the grungier style of shoegaze behind and adopting the more popular techniques of today. ‘ ‘ ‘ Curtis’ history with Secret Machines makes him the recognizable name of the group, but the girls’ vocals on the album makes Deheza one to remember. Throughout songs like ‘Face to Face on High Places,’ the mixture of the voices sounds light as air, something you’d hear while floating on a cloud, hence the name of the track. The Deheza girls add emotion to the air with lyrics like, ‘I hung my head to keep the beat / I had buried all my strength and will to leave.’ Unexpectedly, more listening reveals songs that force their voices to an edgier end of the spectrum. The twins’ singing on the track ‘Iamundernodisguise’ lurks more than it floats. The girls repeat ‘I am under no disguise’ with electronic beating that eventually collides with fuzzier noise, pushing the refrain and the song as a whole into the realm of scary ghost music, instead of the trance-like depth that flows throughout a majority of the album. ‘Connjur’ is one of the great examples of the dream-like state people might find themselves in while listening to Alpinisms. This doesn’t mean the music is slow or sleep-inducing; rather, it’s quick paced, like a dream in which someone is running through unknown territory but enjoying it all the same. The girls sing about this feeling ‘mdash; ‘All kinds of people, places and things / Your cheap door mats and decorations / And to think it was all just a dream / One fantastic hallucinogen.’ The name of the band is almost disconcerting in the sense of the album’s complexity. The image of bells is one of simplicity and ease, but SVIIB does not reflect this idea. The instruments crash against each other but with grace ‘mdash; like a good ’60s political revolt band that uses pacifism to display anger and discomfort with the status quo. Alpinisms employs drum pads and overlapping electronic equipment to bring this feel into the future, but the psychedelic spinning and flowing gives the listener that quick taste of Pink Floyd-like depth ‘mdash; if Dark Side of the Moon was sung by two twins with angelic voices. Though Alpinisms is undoubtedly easy on the ears, it lacks the originality that SVIIB has the musical ability to demonstrate. Using electronica as a canvas for swaying, ethereal voices has been done before, and the idea of knocking on the doors of past genres has become a fad of the present.’ This minor setback does not take away from its overall skill, but it means that it will have to work hard and get creative to stand above the rest. The Deheza sisters can take their background in post-rock experimentalism, combine it with good old Machines rock ‘n’ roll and psychedelic twist on shoegazing and make a new reputation for themselves as the School of Seven Bells.