School of Seven Bells Windstorm

School of Seven Bells's first album, Alpinisms, is known for its dreamy drone and noise elements. While that is carried over in their sophomore album, Disconnect From Desire is brighter and more accessible.

To be honest, the first time I heard it I was a bit turned off. When I first listened to Alpinisms, it stayed on heavy rotation for a while. This wasn't the case with Disconnect From Desire, and I immediately attributed it to a sophomore slump. But after further listens, I've realized that the band's second album is pulling from more influences than the first.

"Heart is Strange" is tinged with sounds of 80s synthpop and "ILU" is reminiscent of a ballad. This album is definitely more "pop" -- it's happier, the lyrics (in line with their first release) are also somewhat repetitive and melodic. If you are looking for something along the lines of their darker, moodier debut album, I'd check out the song "Babelonia," which fits right in between the two albums. It is melodic with an Eastern influence, but also has the pop quality that is prominent in this release.

The second album has definitely shown growth as the band has taken their shoegaze/dream-pop music and fused it with a more polished pop sound without losing the fuzzy distorted noise splashed between the vocals. Using more traditional pop structures in their music, they're able to open their work to fans who are drawn to anything they can dance or sing along to.

However, I wouldn't count on them being too pop in their live shows. When I've seen them, they've been able to conjure up a huge noise wall, with beautiful melodic vocals (think of a throwback to My Bloody Valentine). I'm excited to see where this band goes next, as their last track on the album, "The Wait" (aptly named after the song "Bye Bye Bye") is a melodic etherial ballad that could mean a totally new direction on their third album.