7QT: An Extended Respite

I recently turned in my final assignment of the semester and so I get to enjoy a bit of a longer break than normal before my coursework resumes in the summer. Thankful for the opportunity to catch a deep breath, I celebrated in my own little way by replaying some new songs (new to me, at least) that I've grown fond of in the past couple of months. Below is a snapshot of my trip down memory lane.

1. School of Seven Bells

I first heard of School of Seven Bells on the All Songs Considered show following the Paris bombings of last November. I enjoyed their style of atmospheric dream pop but kept them shelved until their latest album, SVIIB, dropped this February. When I heard their opening cut, whose music video was released just a week ago, I was instantly hooked and simultaneously disheartened at the fact that this would be their last release given the loss of instrumentalist Benjamin Curtis to cancer in 2013.

"Ablaze" by School of Seven Bells

Song of the Week: I'm Not Part of Me

It was suggested by Spotify that I listen to Ugly by Screaming Females (probably because of my interest in Titus Andronicus) and I was going to post something from that album (most likely the song that's featured in Rocksmith 2014) until I tuned in to the Screaming Females radio station and came across the following song by Cloud Nothings. When I heard this lead single from 2014's Here and Nowhere Else I was struck with a peculiar feeling of nostalgia, as if I was transported back to my teenage years and listening for the upteenth time to Taking Back Sunday, Green Day and other pop-punk heart-on-your-sleeve sing-alongs.

"I'm Not Part of Me" by Cloud Nothings

Leave it all to memory,
Kelvin