In Stores Now: Disconnect from Desire by School of Seven Bells

Detail of the cover illustration by Robert Stanley from Raymond Jones' The Deviates, 1959

When School of Seven Bells released their first album, Alpinisms, it seemed to exist in a world of its own. It was produced by known musicians (the Deheza sisters of On!Air!Library! and Ben Curtis of the Secret Machines), but they created something that departed dramatically from their previous work. The album was grounded in a thick, shoegaze-rock sound, which has a trademark otherworldly sound, but there were many things about this particular record that sounded extra-alien. From the Dehezas' strange phrasing of words and the unexpected mixing of layered sounds and exotic rhythms to the album's mystical lyrics and concept (having something to do with a secret school for pickpockets), Alpinisms was just different. The band has now returned with a second album, Disconnect From Desire, an excellent album but one that seems to have been made with the real world in mind.

Maybe it's just me, but I had trouble pinpointing influences on School of Seven Bells' debut record (apart from an obvious love for My Bloody Valentine), but part of Disconnect From Desire's more grounded nature is connecting to its forebears more directly. In the first section of the record, an '80s-pop influence frames the album's least interesting songs - the opening blast of "Windstorm" is quite effective, but "Heart Is Strange" and "I L U" have almost banal lyrics about being in love that are a little bit of a letdown after the grand mysticism of Alpinisms. These songs almost get by on the strength of their vocal hooks and Alejandra and Claudia Deheza's harmonies, but they lacks that "something".

Two excellent songs right in the middle of the Disconnect From Desire perk things up, though - "Babelonia" and "Joviann" bring back the best aspects of the band's debut album, but this time the arrangements have a sense of "space" that improves on the airless, claustrophobic production style of Alpinisms. The album's superior second half also features a better use of musical reference points, with the Germanic pulse and Stereolab vocals of "Dial" leading into the New-Order dance-pop of "Bye Bye Bye". The latter song executes on the promise of the album's earlier songs, abandoning sonic textures and odd lyrics to deliver a simple perfect pop song.

In the end, School of Seven Bells proves that they have been able to expand on the promise of their debut by producing an album that is more grounded but still gives the listener plenty of what the band delivers best - songs with great vocal harmonies and layered guitar sounds that don't sound much like anything else that's being done right now.

"Windstorm" by School of Seven Bells