School of Seven Bells or Secret Machines: The Choice Is Yours

A A A Comments By Michael D. Ayers Wednesday, Oct 29 2008

When most artists leave their already-successful bands to do something new, it's usually because they desire more of the spotlight. Not so with former Secret Machines guitarist Benjamin Curtis: His new band, School of Seven Bells, is a far more meditative and electronic affair dominated by former On!Air!Library! entrancers Alejandra and Claudia Deheza, who sing in mesmerizing siren-song unison, even if they sound like a grade-A hookah-bar act at times. Alpinisms takes two paths: Tracks like "My Cabal" and "Half Asleep" create a subtle floating effect, ethereal and sweet-sounding, vacillating freely from dreamy shoegaze pop to a more tribal, dance-oriented thing; "Iamundernodisguise" and "Wired for Light" both riff on heavy drumbeats and an underlying layer of hazy, stuttering feedback.

The Secret Machines, meanwhile, are content with what they've got: arena-sized rock stompers for those too elitist to enjoy Kings of Leon or the Foo Fighters. But they've now lost both a founding member and major-label backing; that frustration, or uncertainty at least, shakes them up agreeably on their third full-length. Although frontman Brandon Curtis mostly sticks to "What's wrong with my relationship?" lyrical themes, there's a distinct yearning to his tone, with notes of longing and optimism that were absent on 2006's Ten Silver Drops. "Have I Run Out" channels the howls and ambition of late-'60s Pink Floyd, while opener "Atomic Heels" does the power-chord anthem thing, convincingly. The Secret Machines takes the band back where they started, focusing on blistering psych-rock that's nonetheless accessible and doesn't sound like it's overcompensating for something, even if there's plenty to compensate for.