Maybe SVIIB saw the crisis of clutter in the neo/post-shoegaze scene and decided it was time to jump ship. There has no doubt been a glut lately that inspires less rapture than rerun slumber, even for the good ones. Well, they still landed with a pristine splash into the same sea. The aptly named Disconnect from Desire is a disconnect, all right, one from their international flavor, their Kevin Shields blur, and, most critically, emotional reality (or hyper-reality, if you prefer melodrama). Where once they were sure-footed and managed to sound listless even in glaze, Disconnect finds them more relaxed and refined, losing some of their boldness while bolstering their lushness. They’re not yet in stasis, and they’re certainly more than capable of digging up some divine hook or two whenever they care to, but its leisurely drift, babbling beats and single speed sway betrays an awful lot of the exotic promise exhibited on Alpinisms, one of the best debut albums period of 2008.
Machines and manipulation played a major role on the band’s debut, but it still sounded human, particularly beneath the elegant thrust of twin sisters Alejandra and Claudia Deheza’s intertwined vocal aches. This sophomore effort is denser, dreamier, though not necessarily druggier. In all of that “rich tapestry” nonsense, there’s a waxy polish glaring off of everything that makes the entire affair feel encased in glass rather than breathing and vibrating against the skin of the ears. Luckily, this is not a clear-cut detriment, and presents a different sort of appeal—it’s a museum instead of a dreamscape.
Because they’ve always been fairly expressionistic in sensation, losing some of the implied pulse doesn’t detract from one’s enjoyment. A lot of what you take away beyond the sigh and skip is related to what you brought with you (or are even capable of). The biggest loss is in the disappearance of the Middle Eastern melodies, Latin inflections and Afro-beat accents—the closest to “mysterious” we get comes from the Dehezas’ consistently rapturous vocals. Instead, they deliver a lot of drum machine and synth key-driven dance pop tunes beneath pink fog. This is instantly evident on leadoff (and first single) “Windstorm” which is like My Bloody Valentine’s classic “Soon” buried beneath strident, Anthony Gonzalez-esque synthesizer floods. On the very next track, “Heart Is Strange,” this observation is set in stone with snappy rhythmic thuds, pulsing bass, New Order-styled keyboards, and a jangly Madchester guitar figure. And “Bye Bye Bye” is so concerned with the rave-up tempo and driving hook that the music upturns and overwhelms the vocals—a rare misstep in sonic collage construction by musician/producer Benjamin Curtis.
Before they lose the “dream” part of their haute “dream pop” elegance, we’re reminded of the luxuriant waft of their Cocteau Twins-friendly soundscapes on wavering tunes like “I L U,” “Joviann” and “The Wait.” As a closer, “The Wait” slumbers a bit too long at more than six-and-a-half minutes, and as a climax, it’s not lovely or stirring enough to dovetail all of the glassy remainder into a gratifying farewell. “Joviann” is majestic but a little inert even with its flitting wink to “Prince of Peace.” But “I L U” is almost unbearably gorgeous—the album’s richest and most memorable individual achievement—with appropriately affected vocals delivering the plaintive and earnest refrain, “I want you to know that I loved you.” That tender appeal also serves as a nice counterpoint to all of the abstract, New Age-y poetic embellishments that color most of the disc’s remaining words (such as, “This faint imposition is a loaded decision/Hiding in its vision/A treacherous seas,” and, “Let me will the dial/To turn and gild the air/With silver pearls of rain”). It also carries one of the most insistent hooks, a “City of Blinding Lights” chord progression washed over in somnambulant haze.
Perhaps we should be grateful that School of Seven Bells didn’t reiterate all of their whooshing, jet set Kevin Shields musical aphorisms on this new effort, but their tributes to icy electropop and the modern, surging bastardization of New Wave offer only so much future learning/leaning. It’s certainly shapelier and more focused even with the retreat of breathtaking. The endless fogginess and the repetitive chop of the tinny rhythms could have used more opposition—a synth line spiraling out of control, more brittleness to the guitar chime, more resistance and less harmony to the singing, etc. But creating a monument is no easy or underwhelming feat—and make no mistake about it, Disconnect from Desire is definitely a monument—and just because they sound a bit too plotted and crisp doesn’t deny their strengths as both technicians and songwriters of the clearest and most statuesque gauze around. At the very least, Ladytron would be proud of the obvious nod.
"Disconnect from Desire" is on sale July 13, 2010 from Vagrant.
