School of Seven Bells do Siouxsie and the Banshees For You

School of Seven Bells are riding their version of 80's ethereal pop and a bit of electronic skronk with a cover of Siouxsie and the Banshees' Kiss Them for Me. You know who School of Seven Bells sometimes remind me of? Juno award-winning Rose Chronicles, that's who.

What Scruffy Loved Listening to This Year, Pt. 2

Everyone's got a best of the year list. Sorry, not here. But you do get a bunch of music that I loved this year (some of which may have been released prior to 2010, I don't care), some of which I've blogged about already, and some of which I didn't get to sharing. So here it is, Part Two, come on back for the next parts.

The Decemberists' new one The King is Dead ain't out until January 18, but single Down By the Water is already giving out goosebumps. Colin Meloy has been showing off his knack for melody for years, but add on Peter Buck imitating himself circa Fables and then Gillian Welch lending vocals? Nicely done.

The Decemberists -- Down By The Water by JoshApos

Nada Surf are always worth a listen, power pop for now people like you. An album of covers can be dodgy, but not this band's.

Nada Surf - Electrocution by Royalty Central



Winnipeg's Royal Canoe brought the humour, the falsettos, and the hip-shakin' back.

Royal Canoe - Kasparov by scruffy the yak



Sanford finally released songs I've had in my head for years, and actually they were better than I remembered them live. 'Pegger Rob Pachol is Sanford, and he told me he just recorded these tunes to get 'em out and done with. So no shows, no promo, and probably not a big following for this project, which is a shame.

Sanford - Complicated Shoes by scruffy the yak

School of Seven Bells told me I missed shoegaze. Huh. Guess I did.

School of Seven Bells - Babelonia by VagrantRecords

School Of Seven Bells - 'I L U' by stripeyjumper

Shout out Louds make passionate, classy pop. Unapologetically catchy, not joining the forced artiness brigade. Hard not to enjoy Shout Out Louds, don't you think?

04 Shout Out Louds Fall Hard by djeddieo

Shout Out Louds - Can't Explain by barbabajs

Shout Out Louds - Walls by The Muse In Music

Shout Out Louds - Show Me Something New from Ted Malmros on Vimeo.

Come oooooooooooooonnnnnn, leave a comment or two. come back for Part 3, too.

School of Seven Bells Inch Their Way Into Scruffy's Good Books

photo by Tammy Lo

School of Seven Bells are a Brooklyn trio comprised of vocalists/sisters Alejandra and Claudia Deheza and guitarist/producer Benjamin Curtis. Like many artists these days, they vaguely remind me of late 80's/early 90's alt-pop from the U.K.: Cocteau Twins, the Heartthrobs, My Bloody Valentine, Pale Saints...but maybe it's just me.





I actually really like the Phantagram remix, because the instrumentation reminds me of My Blood Valentine a bit. I miss My Bloody Valentine. If you miss them too, you may want to check out captains dead. Just sayin'.







Again, this one recalls MBV without being slavish, it's definitely more poppy, and I probably wouldn't like it without the well-crafted music. As it is, I dig it, though it's defintely not my area of expertise or obsession.



One more for ya. Do you like the band yet?

School of Seven Bells - Windstorm by VagrantRecords

Most School of Seven Bells can be purchased here.