School of Seven Bells

Photo By Guillermo Herren
When guitarist Ben Curtis left The Secret Machines last year, The Machines denied that sibling rivalry amongst the brothers Curtis had anything to do with his split. So you have to love the symmetry of Ben now hooking up with the Deheza sisters, Alejandra and Claudia, in School of Seven Bells. Their release, Alpinisms, certainly bears some of Curtis' trademark droning guitar parts, but is a much more electronic-based affair, with hypnotic beats over the airy, electronically processed vocals of the Dehezas, punctuated by icy synth lines.

Secret Machines fans might take a while to warm to the different sound, but in many ways, School of Seven Bells takes inspiration from some of the best of the Machines work, stripping away some of the bombast and adding new sonic layers that make for a more varied sound.

Give the first single "Connjur" a spin and judge for yourself. If you like it, they will be coming through the region this November.

11/13/08: Black Cat, Washington, DC
11/15/08: Starlight Ballroom, Philadelphia, PA

mp3: Connjur