The debut LP from School of Seven Bells sounds like the result of meticulous labor, and by all accounts it is. Secret Machines' Benjamin Curtis met On!Air!Library!'s Alejandra and Claudia Deheza in late 2004 when their groups were opening for Interpol, and they embarked on an on-and-off collaboration over the next four years. EPs came out on Sonic Cathedral and Table of the Elements last year, and a remix of "Iamundernodisguise" was featured on Prefuse 73's Preparations. As for the full-length, Curtis told Pitchfork's Matthew Solarski that same year that it was in the middle of a lengthy production and revision process. The extra time was worth it. Alpinisms retains distant echoes of the EPs, and vocal similarities to O!A!L! are inevitable, but in SVIIB’s freshest and best-yet iteration, Curtis has moved the band from downtown-arty to diaphonous, nestling the Dehezas' voices in a thick, glimmering haze. The two released versions of "Face to Face on High Places" are the clearest chart for the band's evolution: The EP version, with the same melodic hook as its later incarnation, and some frenzied drumming by Rhys Chatham associate Joe Stickney, is certainly appealing in its own right. It’s also nearly nine minutes long, vamping on its abrasive fire-dance rhythm for the last four. On Alpinisms, “Face” is focused and gleaming, the drums cycling like faraway pistons and the gossamer verse melody recalling My Bloody Valentine's "Blown a Wish".
