CityLife

School of Seven Bells

PROVIDING support for one of the most hotly-tipped young guitar bands of the year can't be easy, but School of Seven Bells seem up for the challenge in a don't-join-them-or-beat-them kind of way.

Rather than ramping up a crowd thirsty for White Lies' stadium anthems, Songs of Seven Bells are more like a refreshing distraction from the teen-rock carnage waiting around the corner.

Densely layered vocals, hooks and beats are slowly and carefully constructed to form a harmonius curtain of sound.

Comparisons with artists like Ladyhawke and Bat For Lashes are obvious, but between them twin sisters Alejandra and Claudia Deheza create a deeper, stronger sound as their vocals dance and twist around each other.

Add in some beats and the occasional heavy bass line and this trio, completed by guitarist Benjamin Curtis show they have a lot more to offer, if only someone would listen.

Rabble

In front of a slightly-beery-for-a-Tuesday rabble at Academy 1 their subtle sounds are sometimes lost in the crowd, but the beats and bass line finally get their message across.

Eventually whispers of "I quite like this band" can be heard murmured around the Academy, but by then it's too late and the School of Seven Bells are drifting off into the ether of back stage from whence they came.

It's worth remembering headliners White Lies were supposed to be playing one of the smaller Academy rooms but after promoters realised the demand for tickets a bigger venue was arranged.

School of Seven Bells, while a delicious slice of alternately breathy and sultry electro folk, seem the sort of band better suited to playing on a sunny hillside rather than a beery cavern.

Catch them touring new album Alpinisms at a festival or a smaller gig this summer and their dreamy world will be much more tangible. 
 

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