Hear It Now: School of Seven Bells' 'Disconnect From Desire'

On their excellent second album Disconnect From Desire, New York's School of Seven Bells update the atomic, textured sound of classic shoegaze bands like Ride and My Bloody Valentine with danceable beats, of-the-moment electronic textures and some of the prettiest, angelic vocals (courtesy of identical twins Alejandra and Claudia Deheza) in indie rock. To celebrate the release of their new LP, which hits stores on July 13th, Rolling Stone has a complete advance album stream. (Pre-order the album here.) Highlights include the uplifting electronic ballad "Babelonia" and "I L U," which fuses ex-Secret Machines member Benjamin Curtis' chiming guitars and droning vocal samples with Alejandra's sensual vocals. Hear it here, now:

Click to listen to School of Seven Bells’ Disconnect From Desire.

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Song Stories

“1999”

Prince | 1982

“I don’t consider myself a great poet,” Prince told Rolling Stone. “I just know I’m here to say what’s on my mind.” In the case of the apocalyptic party anthem “1999,” he was worried about then-president Ronald Reagan’s foreign policies. The song’s melody is based on a riff borrowed from the Mamas and Papas’ “Monday, Monday,” and Prince originally envisioned the first verse with three-part harmony but later split the vocals between himself and members of the Revolution. Because Warner Bros., with whom Prince was locked in a contractual battle, owned the original’s masters, Prince rerecorded the song and appropriately released that version in 1999.

More Song Stories entries »

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