A Thread For School of Seven Bells Love!

I am loving this so much in spite of/because of it's Savage Garden "chick-a-cherry-cola" vibes

this is beautiful. when it opens up melodically in the bridge...

Was crying too hard to listen properly the first time through. Ambushed by unexpected emotion.

Yeah, the way the monotone drone vocals explode into technicolor in the chorus is devastating. But I've been so excited about finally hearing this record but now it's coming out it's actually quite devastating to hear.

This is great, can't wait for the album.

Love, love this track.

This hits me hard the same way I L U did (and still does). SVIIB is/was a band I always felt was really consistently good, but only one song has ever struck me as absolutely brilliant. Make that two songs now.

Savage Garden "chick-a-cherry-cola" vibes

lol, it's true!

This is a stunning track.

This song was too much to listen to this past couple of days. Heartbreakingly gorgeous.

wow, this song is just gorgeous. cannot wait to hear the album!

Fell asleep to Alpinisms last night. Man, that record.

The more I listen to 'Put Your Sad Down', the more I'm convinced it's the best thing SVIIB have ever done. Well, so far at least.

Agreed

I cannot find the lie.

Put Your Sad Down just so levelled up on everything they had done before (as amazing as that was) that we were convinced it was the messenger of their proper, full-on Imperial Phase.

And then.

So I actually dreamed about this album last night. As in, sitting down and listening to the songs and marvelling how good they are. I can still vaguely remember how they go. Actual dream pop, I guess. Ha!

Open Your Eyes is really difficult to listen to but so gorgeous, one of the best songs of the year no doubt. I had no idea that there was a new album mostly in the can by the time Benjamin got ill, and if it's all this good then wow.

Update: album out on Feb. 26, new song premiered, "On My Heart"

http://www.thefader.com/2016/01/14/school-of-seven-bells-on-my-heart

I hear some strong New Order nods in the background of this.

omg another new track and possibly the best yet so far

https://soundcloud.com/schoolofsevenbells/school-of-seven-bells-ablaze

and thankfully no talking-singing this time

I like the talk-singing (but I like the harmony singing better).

By the time this record comes out, we will have heard all the songs! I have really been trying not to overdose too hard on the advances because I want the whole album to hit me fresh from the first time.

Ablaze is a very touching song.

Been listening to their "songs we wanted to cover at some point" playlist and it's very... Hmmm. *suspicious face* Why is there so much music from my actual youth on here, when both of you are so much younger than me?

It's almost like one of you had a big goth older sibling who played this shit all the time and warped your taste to...

...oh.

(I do feel robbed at never having had a SVIIB cover of Haunted When The Minutes Drag considering how great their take on Siouxsie was.)

I'd forgotten all about that excellent Siouxsie cover!

christ, this year already has more wrenching (and great) records than anything else this decade and it's february

I think I saw something about this streaming but can't seem to find the link, nevertheless, "ablaze" is perfect, so is "signals," and the album is actually worth doubleposting

'Ablaze' is fucking wonderful and I seriously can't wait to hear this record.

really enjoyed katherine's review of this

christ, this year already has more wrenching (and great) records than anything else this decade and it's february

― a self-reinforcing downward spiral of male-centric indie (katherine), Thursday, February 4, 2016 3:59 PM (5 days ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Like which? I've only just recently been getting through the highlights of 2015. Trying to catch up!

david bowie for one

Agreed.

(it took a lot of restraint not to mention the bowie album in the review, even though that was genuinely where my mind went, because I was afraid it would come off as glib or take-y, and the potential harm outweighed the potential benefit)

Well, I don't pretend to be as much of an expert on this band as Branwell, Ned, Katherine, lex et al but this is probably my favourite of their records. Extremely beautiful, emotional and surprisingly celebratory.

And we are go...

http://www.npr.org/2016/02/18/466971015/first-listen-school-of-seven-bells-sviib?utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=music

EEEEEEEEP!!!

NO NO NO OMG I'M NOT READY I'M NOT READY *breathes into paper bag*

I know, I know. I'm trying really hard to hold it together at work listening to this. 12 minutes in and I haven't cried yet but I'm just so overwhelmed and unprepared. I thought I had until next week to steel myself!

It's so good, so far. But I can't really do anything except flail and let it wash over me right now.

The mammoth bass on A Thousand Times More! (Wow, the ending of that song is... wow. What would SVIIB sound like collapsing into a black hole.)

I started listening to the lyrics, got slammed really, really hard by the sentiment, and am now actively trying to ignore the lyrics so I don't freak out at my cubicle.

been really into Ghost Story, i kinda missed it when it came out or didn't engage w/it, what a great album

OK wow it's another of their albums where the songs start good and get better and better as the album goes along. Every time I think I've found my favourite song on the album, the next one kicks in, and it's even better...

Music Takes Me! (This sounds oddly like Medicine, and I'm not saying that because of the producer?)

I'm on "Music Takes Me" now and absolutely loving this album.

OK, Confusion is like being kicked in the chest. I can't cope with that song.

OK wow it's another of their albums where the songs start good and get better and better as the album goes along. Every time I think I've found my favourite song on the album, the next one kicks in, and it's even better...

OTM, at least on initial listen

yo, hardcore fanboying aside, what is this album??? There was a very linear progression between "Disconnect" and "Ghostory" (which I liked but was sorta lukewarm on) but this one sounds SO INTERESTING, like it's so distinctively them but for a band whose sound is so singular, where there is so much potential to regurgitate similar ideas, this manages to have more surprises than I would have expected.

feeling "Signals" and "Music Takes Me" the most so far I think. I've got this playing at work while multitasking so I haven't even paid attention to the lyrics of anything yet.

This was fantastic

One thing that sticks out in the lyrics is that the fire metaphor from Ablaze comes up in a number of other songs. It seems to me that a lot of it is about gratitude, hope, and restoration.

"this is our time" just sort of knocks you for six as a closer, right?

like the king album, this really feels like the sort of thing that's going to give and reveal more and more with each listen

"Confusion" is just perfect, this is a really special album

I'm so happy everyone likes this