Disconnect from Desire
by School of Seven Bells
  • Record Label: Vagrant
  • Release Date: Jul 13, 2010
Metascore
69

Generally favorable reviews - based on 24 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 13 out of 24
  2. Mixed: 11 out of 24
  3. Negative: 0 out of 24
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  1. Billboard.com
    90
    For the listener, disconnecting will be all but impossible.
  2. Hot Press
    90
    Stop me if you think you've heard this one before.
  3. Paste Magazine
    82
    The album runs the dream-pop gamut, from dizzyingly energetic to loopy and surreal.
  5. BBC Music
    80
    With the band now considerably more settled, the release of Disconnect from Desire is confirmation that SVIIB's meticulous balance between the spiritual and choral has reached a confident, polished plateau.
  6. AllMusic
    80
    The thicker, more driving songs resemble a polished, warm Curve, whipping up squalls of noise over robust played-and-programmed rhythms that soar more often than batter.
  7. musicOMH.com
    80
    Sure, they may have lost their vulnerability, but School Of Seven Bells suit their new found assurance, and in doing so win our hearts for a second time.
  8. Pitchfork
    80
    Where those newcomers privilege the nostalgic, indefinite, and noncommittal, the vets in SVIIB make a confident gesture towards the future.
  9. Rolling Stone
    70
    The Edge has cited this New York loops-and-dance trio as a recent inspiration.
  10. Spin
    70
    Fussy knob-twiddling grounds a couple of tracks, but this skyward-reaching album delivers plenty of solidly earthy pleasures.
  11. Under The Radar
    70
    For the most part, the new album hews close to the up-tempo pop of Alpinisms. But Curtis, the wizard behind the musical curtain, has a few new tricks up his sleeve. [Summer 2010, p.85]
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  12. Alternative Press
    70
    The result is an album that's dream-like and ephemeral, but still surprisingly grounded and catchy--no doubt the result of strong songwriting and a firm sense of time and place. [Aug 2010, p.152]
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  13. PopMatters
    70
    The happiness of the album is catching like the cheer of a sunrise.
  14. Prefix Magazine
    65
    It's airy, synth-heavy and loud, and it moves like a glacier.

User Reviews

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User Score
7.4

Generally favorable reviews- based on 7 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 7
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 7
  3. Negative: 0 out of 7
  1. hydrawithears
    Oct 2, 2011
    8
    On their second album SVIIB abandon the world music references and move towards dream pop. I respect that conscious decision even if it meansOn their second album SVIIB abandon the world music references and move towards dream pop. I respect that conscious decision even if it means Disconnect from Desire sounds less exciting than Alpinisms. Nevertheless, this is SVIIB we are talking about - Desire offers some awesome moments. Dust Devil is an indie electronic masterwork as precise as it is hypnotic. In Bye Bye Bye the Deheza twins excel themselves and reach for the moon. The whole album is very solid for SVIIB derive from whatâ… Full Review »
  2. oceanofnoise
    Sep 20, 2010
    4
    Negative critics are on the money. Something is missing. I rate by will I like this in one year, 10 years, 50 years. This music is soNegative critics are on the money. Something is missing. I rate by will I like this in one year, 10 years, 50 years. This music is so forgettable. Best tracks ( I L U, Windstorm)… Full Review »
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