Fitting snugly alongside the likes of Florence & The Machine, Victoria & Jacob and La Roux; School of Seven Bells’ second album includes some smartly crafted 80′s electro-pop. Opening with the lead single ‘Windstorm’ (which is reminiscent of Coco Rosie’s ‘Rainbow Warriors’) the tone is set for a sometimes fruitful blend of pop sophistication. This is taken a step further with the superior ‘Dust Devil’, which intertwines thrusting, layered vocals with 1980s drama / danger pop grandeur. ‘ILU‘ follows, with all the hallmarks of a classic pop single. Both sweet and melancholy, this is very respectable stuff and is among the real highlights of ‘Disconnect From Desire’. School Of Seven Bells seem to have tapped into a section of the late 80′s / early 90′s, with ‘Heart is Strange’, the excellent ‘Dial’ and the rather unfortunately titled ‘Babelonia’ . The flat, haunting harmonies of the twins also work especially well on the minimalist, David Bowie Scary Monsters-phase ‘Camarilla’. When peaking, classic acts like St. Etienne or The Cocteau Twins come to mind. But less inventive than, say, the Fever Ray debut of last year, it’s the over-reliance on Stock, Aitken & Waterman style drum machine and 80′s lacquer that is keeping School Of Seven Bells downstream.
