Biography
School of Seven Bells refreshed dream pop for the present day by layering dense combinations of live playing and electronic programming. Their woozy and instantly recognizable approach echoed the early masters of the style—My Bloody Valentine, Curve, and Seefeel—while pulling additional influences from earlier eras, among them ambient Krautrock, the colder reaches of synth pop, electro, and freestyle. Although lyrics often revolved around invented characters and spirits, the band readily composed direct, heartfelt ballads suited to artful adult contemporary.
The project started as a trio after Benjamin Curtis crossed paths with Alejandra and Claudia Deheza, whose On!Air!Library! had opened for his band Secret Machines on a bill with Interpol. The three exited their prior groups and issued their first recording, the 2007 Sonic Cathedral 7" My Cabal, whose B-side featured a remix by Robin Guthrie, whose Cocteau Twins work supplied another clear reference point. Further singles and a brief collaboration with Prefuse 73 led to the October 2008 Ghostly International debut album Alpinisms. The more forceful and straightforward Disconnect from Desire arrived in July 2010 on Ghostly and Vagrant, entering Billboard's Top Electronic Albums chart at number nine. Claudia Deheza departed amid the following tour; later that year her sister and Curtis, who had been romantically involved, ended their relationship. School of Seven Bells nevertheless carried on with undiminished creative strength. Ghostory appeared in February 2012 and reached the same Top Electronic Albums position as its predecessor. Put Your Sad Down, a download-only EP containing a 13-minute title track and a cover of Silver Apples' "Lovefingers," was offered at the group's shows that year.
In early 2013 Curtis disclosed a lymphoma diagnosis. A benefit concert was held that August in New York featuring Albert Hammond, Jr. of the Strokes and Paul Banks of Interpol, while members of Radiohead and Coldplay contributed items to an accompanying silent auction. Curtis died that December. Several months afterward Alejandra Deheza issued a School of Seven Bells cover of Joey Ramone's "I Got Knocked Down (But I'll Get Up)" that had been tracked while Curtis was hospitalized; Ramone himself had succumbed to lymphoma just over a decade before. A fourth School of Seven Bells album, already nearly complete at the time of Curtis' diagnosis, was finished by Deheza with assistance from producer Justin Meldal-Johnsen and released as SVIIB in February 2016.
The project started as a trio after Benjamin Curtis crossed paths with Alejandra and Claudia Deheza, whose On!Air!Library! had opened for his band Secret Machines on a bill with Interpol. The three exited their prior groups and issued their first recording, the 2007 Sonic Cathedral 7" My Cabal, whose B-side featured a remix by Robin Guthrie, whose Cocteau Twins work supplied another clear reference point. Further singles and a brief collaboration with Prefuse 73 led to the October 2008 Ghostly International debut album Alpinisms. The more forceful and straightforward Disconnect from Desire arrived in July 2010 on Ghostly and Vagrant, entering Billboard's Top Electronic Albums chart at number nine. Claudia Deheza departed amid the following tour; later that year her sister and Curtis, who had been romantically involved, ended their relationship. School of Seven Bells nevertheless carried on with undiminished creative strength. Ghostory appeared in February 2012 and reached the same Top Electronic Albums position as its predecessor. Put Your Sad Down, a download-only EP containing a 13-minute title track and a cover of Silver Apples' "Lovefingers," was offered at the group's shows that year.
In early 2013 Curtis disclosed a lymphoma diagnosis. A benefit concert was held that August in New York featuring Albert Hammond, Jr. of the Strokes and Paul Banks of Interpol, while members of Radiohead and Coldplay contributed items to an accompanying silent auction. Curtis died that December. Several months afterward Alejandra Deheza issued a School of Seven Bells cover of Joey Ramone's "I Got Knocked Down (But I'll Get Up)" that had been tracked while Curtis was hospitalized; Ramone himself had succumbed to lymphoma just over a decade before. A fourth School of Seven Bells album, already nearly complete at the time of Curtis' diagnosis, was finished by Deheza with assistance from producer Justin Meldal-Johnsen and released as SVIIB in February 2016.
Albums
Ghostory (Deluxe Version)
2026
Heart Is Strange
2026
SVIIB
2016
Put Your Sad Down
2012
Disconnect from Desire (Deluxe Version)
2010
Alpinisms
2008
My Cabal
2007
Singles
