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9.0
14517
9.0 |
The 405
The follow up to 2008’s universally beloved Alpinisms retains its predecessor's hypnotic vocal harmonies against urgent electronica, but with more than a dash of 80’s nostalgia this time around
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8.0
14469
8.0 |
musicOMH
Sure, they may have lost their vulnerability, but School Of Seven Bells suit their new found assurance, and in doing so win our hearts for a second time
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8.0
14473
8.0 |
Pitchfork
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
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8.0
15179
8.0 |
Consequence Of Sound
From beginning to end, School of Seven Bells’ second album creates interesting and melodic atmospheres that provide support for some truly great songs
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8.0
16333
8.0 |
Eye Weekly
Crystal-clear, dancefloor-ready dream-pop
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8.0
14176
8.0 |
Q
A thing of beauty, no doubt about it. Print edition only
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8.0
14268
8.0 |
NME
A record shot through with feeling. Print edition only
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8.0
14352
8.0 |
The Fly
It’s the perfect midpoint on the Cocteaus/ Curve axis, and arguably the guitar triumph of 2010
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8.0
14371
8.0 |
The Observer
Produced one of 2008's most beguiling debuts with the ethereal spacepop of Alpinisms. Its successor is no less blissed-out
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7.0
14396
7.0 |
The Line Of Best Fit
A lot of their influences may well be around twenty years old, but their songwriting craft, musical dexterity and studio magic combine to make a record that is both enjoyable and relevant today
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7.0
14317
7.0 |
Bowlegs
Highly recommended, both in concert and on this wonderfully pretty, almost three-dimensionally synaesthetic album
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7.0
14464
7.0 |
Rolling Stone
Joy Division and the early Cure, stylishly updated with pop flair and holy-aura harmonies
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7.0
14207
7.0 |
Spin
This skyward-reaching album delivers plenty of solidly earthy pleasures
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7.0
14494
7.0 |
Beats Per Minute
For a band so thoughtful and intentional in its seamless, home-studio crafted production, this fusion between shoegaze and dance music ultimately falls short
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7.0
14549
7.0 |
PopMatters
The happiness of the album is catching like the cheer of a sunrise. You might be grumpy and unwilling at first, but the warmth and light finally convinces you everything will be okay
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7.0
39230
7.0 |
AU Review
An impressive evolution for a group which could have crumbled
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6.5
14580
6.5 |
Prefix
School of Seven Bells really only have one song. It’s airy, synth-heavy and loud, and it moves like a glacier. That song can be great at times, but when it’s spread over six-minute versions 10 times an album, Disconnect from Desire becomes an endurance exercise
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6.0
16336
6.0 |
Blurt
Musical gastronomes seeking embellishment for Cocteau Twins and Secret Machines mixes should still be reasonably satiated
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6.0
14149
6.0 |
The Skinny
The dense, watertight production and elegant breeze of opening number Windstorm exudes the air of a band with its foot on neutral
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6.0
14166
6.0 |
Uncut
Print edition only
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6.0
14169
6.0 |
Rave Magazine
The record is dwarfed by their almost too-perfect debut
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6.0
14174
6.0 |
Q
Print edition only
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6.0
14340
6.0 |
The Guardian
An enjoyable if occasionally familiar-sounding second album from this New York trio
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6.0
14409
6.0 |
Clash
Though the luscious wall of sound becomes a bit predictable by the record’s second half, it’s still an interesting step forward
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5.0
14318
5.0 |
The Digital Fix
The problem with this album is that while every track is perfectly fine, nothing ever stands out and grabs your attention
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5.0
14250
5.0 |
BBC
SVIIB’s ability to create lucid, breathless music of inexorable beauty was glorious the first time round. But here they go further. Now it seems innate
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5.0
14277
5.0 |
Drowned In Sound
As a piece of digi-gaze Eighties pop revivalism this album lags behind M83's recent output, and may well signal the closure of the tenuous genre
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5.0
15016
5.0 |
The Quietus
The fundamental problem with Disconnect from Desire is that for all its impressive aural stylings, it features some pretty bodgy songwriting. Strip away all the layers and lush production values, and what you're left with is a series of fairly drab and uninteresting songs
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5.0
14577
5.0 |
Tiny Mix Tapes
School of Seven Bells have done better before, and Disconnect From Desire shows, in too-brief flashes, the heavenly heights they are capable of reaching when they aren’t busy grasping at empty air
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