STREAM: School of Seven Bells - Put Your Sad Down EP

Stream School of Seven Bells' Put Your Sad Down EP in full above. Is that a 12:46 track? Off to radio! But seriously, Ghostory is a front runner for my Top 10 year-end list. Enjoy the new EP.

New Video: School of Seven Bells -- "The Night"

Love this record.

School of Seven Bells - "Kiss Them For Me (Siouxsie And The Banshees Cover)"

Dig this cover from one of our favorite artists, School of Seven Bells; their new album, Ghostory (out now) is a front runner for a Top 10 spot on our Best of 2012 lists...already.

School of Seven Bells: "Reappear"

The New Album "Ghostory" Available Now.

Full Album Stream: School of Seven Bells Ghostory

We're really excited for this record and have been for some time. Dig what we had to say about the first track released, "The Night" and the second, "Lafaye." PLAY THIS LOUD.

New Track: School of Seven Bells - "Lafaye"

In addition to the amazing artists Matt has recently written about below, School of Seven Bells' third record, Ghostory is quickly becoming one of our most highly anticipated albums of 2012; it drops on 2/28 via Vagrant Records. After being given our first taste with "The Night," we knew there was something big coming. Now, the band has just released "Lafaye," which confirms this assertion. This record is going to be huge and we can't wait to hear more.

New School of Seven Bells Track - "The Night"

School of Seven Bells - The Night by Vagrant Records

The new album from School of Seven Bells, Ghostory, is due on 2/28/12 via Vagrant Records. We can't say enough of about the pure talent of this group; they make a indie-genre of their own with amazing melodies, great vocal harmonies and electro-samples/beats that never sound stale. From Alpinisms in 2009, to Disconnect from Desire in 2010, School of Seven Bells have been top contenders on every end-of-year Best of List. Their newest single, "The Night" was first heard through Stark ears live at Cameo a few months ago; talk about an ear-worm, we recognized it again immediately. Looking forward to this release folks. Big time.

School of Seven Bells Announce New Album

Enjoy "My Cabal" from Alpinisms above.

LA's the School of Seven Bells are readying the release of their sophomore record, Disconnect from Desire dropping July 13 on Vagrant/Ghostly International.

This trio, comprised on two twins and a Secret Machines expat screamed on to the scene back in 2008 with their debut record, Alpinisms garnering praise from, Spin, NME, Paste, Pitchfork and of course US! (see #9 on the best of chart.) Thinking outside the box, while still staying nearly-one-foot in, School of Seven bells are a musical enigma, but one you want to continually explore. Alpinisms was a sprawling journey - the album moved almost pushing physicality. Needless to say, we are super exicted to see what they offer us next. We're on board. We're with it.

In addtional to announcing the new album, SSB will also be playing two shows at NYC's Mercury Lounge on June. 9 and 10. See you there! Check out the

The XX Take New York

[mp3] The XX "Basic Space"

Today, Fader gave us the new mp3 from England's newest exports The XX. While much is made of their love for soul music, that's not really what we take away from their music. It's more about the languid male/female vocals melodies and the band's ability to play by not playing too much. They hint at dance rhythms, but they are almost too laid back for that. We haven't had a full listen to their debut LP yet, but we're definitely looking forward to it. Comes out on Young Turks/XL October 20th. There are plenty of chances to catch The XX in New York coming up, including a free show at South Street Seaport with School of Seven Bells. See tour dates after the jump.

Aug 07 - New York NY - Mercury Lounge (with Free Energy and Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic)
Aug 12 - New York NY - Pianos
Aug 13 - Brooklyn NY - Music Hall of Williamsburg - with Friendly Fires
Aug 14 - New York NY - South Street Seaport (with School of Seven Bells)

Tour Alert: School of Seven Bells

Brooklyn's electro-pop trio, School of Seven Bells, are set to tour behind their mildly successful 2008 full-length debut, Alpinisms. We sure as hell enjoyed the record however, as it made the # 9 spot on Vince's Best of 2008 list. Though generating buzz in 2008, the band hit its stride heading into 2009, peaking at SXSW; Entertainment Weekly reported on the band's SX performance saying they produce, "...a sound that could just as easily put you in a reflective trance or make you dance for your life." Fine by us.

Dig the Bell's tour dates after the jump.

School of Seven Bells US Tour Dates:
5/20 Chicago, IL @ Bottom Lounge*
5/21 Madison, WI @ High Noon Saloon*
5/22 Minneapolis, MN @ Triple Rock Social Club*
5/25 Seattle, WA @ Sasquatch Festival*
5/26 Portland, OR @ Holocene*
5/28 San Francisco, CA @ Bottom of the Hill*
5/29 Los Angeles, CA @ Troubadour*
5/30 Costa Mesa, CA @ Detroit Bar*
5/31 Tucson, AZ @ Rhythm Room*
6/02 Austin, TX @ Mohawk*
6/03 Denton, TX @ Hailey's*
6/04 Little Rock, AR @ Sticky Fingerz*
6/05 Nashville, TN @ Exit In*
6/06 Columbus, OH @ Circus*
6/12 New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom
* w/Black Moth Super Rainbow

School of Seven Bells - "Half Asleep" Video - Wavves Release

Today, Pitchfork.TV debuted the newest video from one of our fave new artists School of Seven Bells. Their music is largely electronic, but crafted in such a way as to sound organic and at times even comforting. School of Seven Bells were kind enough to contribute to our 2008 Artist Choices list, and their debut Alpinisms even found its way into Vince's top 10 records of the year.



In other news...

WAVVES' second record Wavvves came out digitally today and has some nice placement on the iTunes homepage. We dug Wavves (his debut), but from our first impressions the follow-up on Fat Possum seems a bit more... polished? It's hard to call Wavves polished in any regard, but his mess of distorted noise, cacophonous drums and trashy vocals somehow has more punch to it and has a more full sound. Go figure. Just pick it up. You can also download a copy of Wavves' NY Market Hotel show HERE from Nyctaper.
Wavves "So Bored" mp3

Best Of 2008: Artist Choices

For our grand finale, we present Stark's biggest achievement of 2008: pulling together some of the biggest and most diverse names in music, including My Morning Jacket, Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin, The Welcome Wagon, School of Seven Bells, Jukebox The Ghost, Lewis And Clarke, The Spinto Band, Valencia and dozens of others to contribute their own personal lists of their favorite records from the past twelve months. A huge thanks goes out to all the bands, labels and publicists who made this project possible. Enjoy!

Click Here For The Best Of 2008: Artist Choices

School of Seven Bells - "Alpinisms" and Webster Hall w/ M83

School of Seven Bells - "Conjur" - mp3

Yesterday, we picked up the new record, Alpinisms from School of Seven Bells, and while we've only listened a few times since yesterday, we can say that it's pretty damn excellent. As per the usual, before we could write about it, Pitchfork slapped it with an 8.0 and a recommended status -- but we shall not be deterred!

The record get's a little long towards the end (it's almost an hours worth of music,) yet, Alpinisms is consistent and dutifully crafted. Formed by Ben Curtis of the Secret Machines, this is the group's first full-length effort. The band has described the record as "mountain climbing music" and it seems to be just that. Each song develops well and constantly progresses to its dark and chilling natural peak. It's melodic, organic, and electronic all at the same time. That works perfectly for us. STARK recommended.

School of Seven Bells plays this Friday, Nov. 14, with another Stark favorite M83 at Webster Hall in NY. Should be a great show.

Full tour dates with M83 after the jump...

Nov 12 2008 8:00P w/ M83 Charlotte, North Carolina
Nov 13 2008 9:00P w/ M83 WASHINGTON, Washington DC
Nov 14 2008 8:00P w/ M83 New York, New York
Nov 15 2008 8:00P w/ M83 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Nov 16 2008 8:30P w/ M83 Northampton, Massachusetts
Nov 18 2008 10:00P w/ M83 Boston, Massachusetts
Nov 19 2008 8:00P w/ M83 Montreal, Quebec
Nov 20 2008 8:00P w/ M83 Toronto, Ontario
Nov 21 2008 8:00P w/ M83 Chicago, Illinois
Nov 22 2008 10:00P w/ M83 Minneapolis, Minnesota
Nov 25 2008 8:00P w/ M83 Seattle, Washington
Nov 26 2008 7:30P w/ M83 Vancouver, British Columbia
Nov 27 2008 9:00P w/ M83 Portland, Oregon
Nov 28 2008 8:00P w/ M83 San Francisco, California
Nov 29 2008 10:00P w/ M83 Los Angeles, California

School Of Seven Bells

www.myspace.com/schoolofsevenbells

School of Seven Bells

Our favorite records of the years, in no particular order:

Earth - The Bees Made Honey In The Lion's Skull
Fennesz - Black Sea
Erykah Badu - New Amerykah Part One (4th World War)
Portishead - Third
Madlib - Beat Konducta Vol. 5+6
Beach House - Devotion
M83 - Saturdays = Youth
VA - Ghostly Swim
Tim and Eric - The "Brownie Mountain" song (we know this isn't an album, but we wish it was)
Gas - Nah und Fern
Robert Wyatt - Shleep (Reissue)