One deceased musician is not the other. While the music magazines are still full of stories about after months , the death of Ben Curtis in late 2013 only led to a few small pieces. Logical in itself; Curtis' bands - successively UFOFU, , and School of Seven Bells - made it to underground success at best. But at the same time also tragic. The Oklahoma songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist
… was only 35 when he died of cancer, leaving his musical soulmate (and ex-girlfriend) Alejandra Deheza as the sole member of the School of Seven Bells. SVIIB, as these Shoegazers were often abbreviated, was written before the fatal diagnosis, but was recorded during Curtis' illness. Of course you cannot get rid of that knowledge. Yet SVIIB has become an astonishingly cathartic record. From the overwhelming Ablaze, which would have been suitable for My Bloody Valentine's standard work Loveless, via the dreamy beautiful single Open Your Eyes to the heart-rending closing track This Is Our Time; this is an impressive final chord by an underappreciated band and musician in every way. (RME)more
