Tonight: School of Seven Bells/Fujiya & Miyagi at the 7th St. Entry

*MP3: School of Seven Bells - "Chain"
*MP3: School of Seven Bells - "Connjur"
*MP3: Fujiya & Miyagi - "Collarbone"

The BILL:
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Radio K & Vita.mn present:

Fujiya & Miyagi
School of Seven Bells (Pictured Above)

at the 7th St. Entry / 8:00 pm / 18+
$13.00 adv | $15.00 door

This is a must-see event, don't miss it!

School of Seven Bells on MySpace
Fujiya and Miyagi on MySpace

School of Seven Bells - Live on "Radio K"

School of Seven Bells - My Cabal (Live on Radio K) from Radio K on Vimeo.

Radio K has posted a session with dream-pop trio School of Seven Bells, who stopped by for a session and interview around the time they opened for M83. School of Seven Bells's new album is called Alpinisms, and its out now. Read MFR's take on it here.

Saturday: M83 and School of Seven Bells at the Triple Rock

M83 and School of Seven Bells will performing tomorrow night (Saturday, Nov. 22) at the Triple Rock Social Club. I'll be out of town and can't go, so please check it out and buy a t-shirt for me.

M83 on MySpace
Download: M83 - "Kim & Jessie"

M83 - "Kim & Jessie"
M83 - Kim & Jessie


School of Seven Bells on MySpace
Download: School of Seven Bells - "Connjur"

School of Seven Bells Tour Footage

Ticket Giveaway: School of Seven Bells @ Triple Rock Social Club

Download: School of Seven Bells - "Connjur"
Download: School of Seven Bells - "Chain"

Update: Congrats to reader Sam, who was the first to email. Thanks to every one who entered.

MFR is giving away a pair of tickets to the M83/School of Seven Bells show at the Triple Rock this Saturday. All you have to do is write to Jon, and be the first one to do so. Simple yes? Yes. Good times.

School of Seven Bells MySpace Page

School of Seven Bells - Alpinisms

School of Seven Bells
Alpinisms (Ghostly International, 2008)
Grade: B

Download: School of Seven Bells - "Connjur"
Download: School of Seven Bells - "Chain"

Just to get this out of the way: Alpinism, in its singular form, is another name for climbing up mountains (which at least explains the album cover). Alpinisms, the debut record from School of Seven Bells, a trio featuring former members of The Secret Machines and On! Air! Library!, certainly feels as if its trying to scale newfound creative heights by incorporating many ideas into their music.

By incorporating elements of world music, synth-pop from late-80s era of new wave (the guitar tones on “Connjur” directly emulate Depeche Mode’s work circa Violator), and psychedelic sound-shifting, School of Seven Bells create a diverse mélange for the listener to explore. Opening track “Iamunderdisguise” suggests Enya discovering dub reggae, but with much, much more listenable results, and “Wired for Light” incorporates Middle Eastern motifs. Most of the tracks on Alpinisms are backed up by steady electronic hi-hat drums, much like the ones heard on My Bloody Valentine’s classic “Soon”.

Paradoxically, Alpinisms’s main flaw is that these elements tend to blur together over the course of an entire record. Not helping matters is when the dual female harmonized vocals veer toward the melodramatic, especially on tracks where Kate Bush’s ethereal singing style serves as a one-way ticket toward weepy willow territory, as on “White Elephant Coat”.

But Alpinisms is at its best when School of Seven Bells write straightahead pop songs with ambient twists, as on album highlights like “Face To Face on High Places”, the dreamy “Half Asleep” and soothing album closer “Canal”. Before returning to the world-music motifs that were present earlier in the album, the record takes an epic turn toward Krautrock with an 11-minute epic “Sempiternul/Amaranth”.

The song itself encompasses what’s both wrong and right with Alpinisms as a whole. At the track's beginning, the witchy vocals tend toward the grating. Once the group settles into a motorik groove, then it gets really interesting, as the trio finds new and exciting ways to explore sound and texture. By being experimental within some degree of convention, School of Seven Bells create compelling dream-pop music. It’s unfortunate that their dabbling with other forms doesn't succeed as well as it perhaps should, but hopefully future releases will retain that sense of adventurism while maintaining a greater compositional success rate.

School of Seven Bells MySpace Page

Cross-published on CIMI

Tours: Schools of Seven Bells (Opening Up For M83)

Download: School of Seven Bells - "Connjur"

Ethereal dream-poppers School of Seven Bells, the group consisting of former members of Secret Machines and On! Air! Library!, have a lot of live activity going on before their debut Alpinisms drops on October 28th. First of is their tour with fellow celestially-minded tunesmiths M83, who are still going strong behind their ambient 80s nostalgia trip Saturdays=Youth. That tour sees the groups coming to the Mini-Apple on November 22nd. But before they come Mid-West, the Bells will hit up a triumvirate of dates in New York, where they will be playing the CMJ music conference, where they will be one of thousands trying to impress industry insiders. Based on the sounds of "Connjur", they should have no trouble.

Here are the dates:

09/27 Boston, MA - Urban Outfitters Newbury
10/17 Pontiac, MI - The Pike Room
10/18 Kalamazoo, MI - State Theater^
10/22 Brooklyn, NY - Cake Shop (CMJ)
10/24 New York, NY - Levi's Fader Fort NYC (CMJ)
10/25 New York, NY - Le Poisson Rouge (CMJ)
10/28 London, UK - Old Blue Last
10/29 London, UK - The Social
11/11 Atlanta, GA - The Earl +
11/12 Charlotte, NC- Tremont Music Hall +
11/13 Washington, DC - Black Cat +
11/14 New York, NY - Webster Hall +
11/15 Philadelphia, PA - Starlight Ballroom+
11/16 Northhampton, MA - Pearl Street +
11/18 Boston, MA - Middle East Downstairs +
11/19 Montreal, QC - Studio +
11/20 Toronto, ON - Opera House +
11/21 Chicago, IL - Bottom Lounge +
11/22 Minneapolis, MN- Triple Rock +
11/25 Seattle, WA - Neumo's +
11/26 Vancouver, BC - Richard's on Richards +
11/27 Portland, OR - Doug Fir +
11/28 San Francisco, CA - The Fillmore +
11/29 Los Angeles, CA - Fonda Theater +

+ w/ M83
^ w/ Black Moth Super Rainbow, Mates of State

School of Seven Bells MySpace Page
(Jonathan Graef)
Jon@minneapolisfuckingrocks.com

Top Ten Songs on Elbo.Ws Reviewed in 50 Words or Less: 8/15/08-8/31/08

1. Peter, Bjorn and John - "Inland Empire"

Download: Peter Bjorn and John - "Inland Empire"

In stark contrast to their past material's hook-saturated ebullience, "Inland Empire" is a noir instrumental driven by hi-hat hits, atmospheric sound, and quirky instrumentation. The guitar and horn cliches strain a bit, but those brief mistakes don't take away from a fascinating departure that shows PB&J are more than effervescent pop-smiths.

Grade: B+

2. School of Seven Bells - "Conjur"

Download: School of Seven Bells - "Conjur"

Two-parts On!Air!Library!, one-part Secret Machines, this newly formed trio recalls the airy vocals of High Places, and the ethereal, but still beat-heavy, shoegazer of Blonde Redhead. "Conjur" does exactly that: listeners will be reminded of greats past and present, while they float on a cloud of feelings evoking content, loveliness and transcendence.

Grade: A-

3. Ra Ra Riot - "Dying is Fine"

Download: Ra Ra Riot - "Dying is Fine"

The latest line in New York-based blog favorites, the quintet contemplate life's big questions (Sadly, they've credibility on the subject) while playing competent indie-rock that touches on many pop-heavy references (Death Cab guitar riff here, Billy Joel-style chorus there). Catchy, certainly, but there's a time and place for this kind of thing. It's called college.

Grade: C+

4. The Broken West - "Auctioneer"

Download: The Broken West - "Auctioneer"

Again, fine musicianship, and catchy melodies. But listeners have heard this particular brand of modern power-pop before. And they'll hopefully hear it done with more inspiration later (possibly by this very band).

Grade: C

5. Los Campesinos - "How I Taught Myself To Scream"

Download: Los Campesinos - "How I Taught Myself To Scream"

The international tweexcore underground writes another joyously extroverted pop song, with slight orchestral touches, and some nods Irish folk and the melodic noise usually coming from multi-instrumentalist collectives in Canada. Familiar, yes, but Los Campesinos also show how much you can do with infectious energy and a triumphant sense of youthful optimism.

Grade: B+

6. The Chemical Brothers - "Hey Boy, Hey Girl" (Soulwax Remix)

Download: The Chemical Brothers - "Hey Boy, Hey Girl" (Soulwax Remix)

Did a spaceship just land in my apartment? Well, at least their tunes are alright.

Grade: B

7. Department of Eagles - "No One Does It Like You"

Download: Department of Eagles - "No One Does It Like You"

3/4ths of shimmering indie harmonists Grizzly Bear can't be wrong, can they? Not when they repeat the successful formulas of past songs (doo-wop-tinged melodies, soaking the production in reverb, brisket-style). The problem? Why don't listeners simply go back and listen to "Knife"?

Grade: B-

8. Of Montreal - "Nonpariel of Favor"

Download: Of Montreal - "Nonpariel of Favor"

Beginning with classical motifs that briefly quote classic-rock camp, "Nonpariel of Favor" delivers on its creators' promise to make pop music that's unpredictable, let logical. By borrowing from pop's great psychedelic progenitors, and by evoking its contemporaries, Of Montreal given us a glance at what is sure to be another masterful album.

Grade: A

9. TV On The Radio - "Golden Age"

Download: TV On The Radio - "Golden Age"

With a bass line tuning into Michael Jackson, these famous experimentalists don't so much flip the script of the ghostly, horn-driven Cookie Mountain, as creak it open more to see what's there. Turns out, it makes a brother wanna dance. Also, a whole hell of a lot of great music.

Grade: A-

10. The Walkmen - "In The New Year"

Download: The Walkmen - "In The New Year"

The vocal Dylan-isms hit the nail on the head way too much, but The Walkmen successfully create a punch-drunk atmosphere conducive to the most warm and open of sing-alongs. That echo-heavy guitar sound certainly helps a lot. With any luck, "In The New Year" will be the anthem of yours.

Grade: A-

(Jonathan Graef)

New Schools of Seven Bells - "Conjur"

Download: School of Seven Bells - "Conjur"

Not unlike High Places, this Brooklyn-based trio craft ethereal tapestries of sound that's given a rock solid foundation based upon electronically-composed beats and rich, dual female harmonies. There's less of a hip-hop and world influence here, but those who are taken with Mary Pearson's vocals in High Places should go ga-ga over the twin Deheza sisters (making the whole enterprise reminiscent of Blonde Redhead). Schools of Seven Bells consist of Ben Curtis from Secret Machines and the aforementioned sisters from On! Air! Library!. They've got an album coming out called Alpinisms, and "Conjur" is the first, non-Stereogum exclusive, track to leak from it. It's a doozy of an electro-pop number.

Listen to it at the top of the post.

School of Seven Bells MySpace Page

(Jonathan Graef)