School of Seven Bells, Free Blood - Le Poisson Rouge 01.16.09

School of Seven Bells
Can you tell that I finally got a new camera with a functioning LCD screen?

Finally, I got to see School of Seven Bells. After missing them open for M83, I thought I wouldn't have another upcoming opportunity to see them. Thankfully, H. asked me to go see Free Blood at Le Poisson Rouge, and School of Seven Bells was also making an appearance.

While I don't like many female vocalists, the twin singers of School of Seven Bells sound ever so haunting together. For their shoegaze-type genre of music, the light and sweet voices are a perfect complement to the dreamy instrumentals. I only wish that their vocals were turned up a bit more so that they wouldn't have been drowned out at any point. Their set at Le Poisson Rouge was uninterrupted by banter, which I preferred because any space in between the songs would have distracted from the mood that the band was creating. Normally, I am not a big fan of smoke machines, but the smoke was very appropriate for School of Seven Bells. But, at one point, there was so much smoke that I couldn't make out any of the band members. I have no idea how they were able to keep playing without being able to see.

After School of Seven Bells, Free Blood took the stage and put on a relatively tame show. The first time that I had seen Free Blood was when they opened for Hot Chip last April. John Pugh (formerly of !!!) and Madeline Davy are quirky duo, and they are not afraid to get down - literally. They will sing and dance for your entertainment, and you can't help but crack a smile at their clever lyrics. If you like !!! (chk chk chk), then this is for you.

School of Seven Bells' Alpinisms and Free Blood's The Singles are both currently available.




School of Seven Bells



Free Blood


Half Asleep - School of Seven Bells





Grumpy - Free Blood