The School

The Cardiff, Wales-based ensemble the School began assembling their sincere and fanciful indie pop songs in 2007, presenting a brighter, more buoyant take on the approach previously pursued by frontwoman Liz Hunt in her earlier project the Loves. At inception the lineup comprised Liz together with Rosie on guitar and vocals, Steph on violin, Josh on drums, Ryan on bass, Ceri on guitar and vocals, and Filmryan on glockenspiel. After only four live performances the group signed with the Madrid, Spain-based label Elefant, then also releasing material by kindred acts the Carrots and Fitness Forever. Their debut 7" single, “All I Wanna Do,” issued on bubblegum-pink vinyl, appeared in spring 2008 and was followed soon after by the EP Let It Slip.

During the next year the band toured the U.K. with the Boy Least Likely To, recorded a version of the Left Banke’s “And Suddenly” for a split single on Slumberland, and placed tracks on the soundtrack of the Spanish film Yo, También while working with producer Ian Catt (Saint Etienne, the Field Mice) on their first album. By the April 2010 release of Loveless Unbeliever the roster had settled around the core trio of Liz, Steph, and Ryan, augmented by Rich on drums, Harri on guitar, vocals, and glockenspiel, Fran on trumpet and vocals, Kay on keyboards, violin, and vocals, and Ivan on guitar.

After a stretch of live shows, singles drawn from Loveless (“Wishing & Hoping,” “I Love Everything”), and songwriting, the group issued the new single “Never Thought I’d See the Day” in early 2012, followed in May by the album Reading Too Much Into Things Like Everything. A subsequent hiatus ended with their 2014 contribution to the WIAIWYA label’s 7777777 Singles Club. The band resurfaced more fully in early 2015 with the single “All I Want from You Is Everything,” featuring drums and production by former Slow Club bassist Rob Jones. After another single, “Do I Love You?,” the Northern Soul-influenced third album Wasting Away & Wondering appeared that fall.