Alpinisms
by School of Seven Bells
User Score
7.2

Generally favorable reviews- based on 12 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 9 out of 12
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 12
  3. Negative: 2 out of 12

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  1. hydrawithears
    Oct 2, 2011
    8
    School of Seven Bellsâ
  2. seanm.
    Feb 5, 2009
    9
    An indie psychdelic trip that does'nt leave you cold. Nods to Valentines and Cocteaus all mushed up with hypnotic rythms that make you sway with a smile. A real grower with minimum filler. Impresive and highly recommended.
  3. ScottT
    Nov 11, 2008
    10
    Great album!!!
  4. BrendanS.
    Nov 11, 2008
    10
    My favorite tracks are: Face to Face on High Places, Wired for Light, For Kalaja Mari, White Elephant Coat, and My Cabal. They write amazing lyrics too (see "Iamundernodisguise" and "Face to Face on High Places"). "Face to Face on High Places" is one of the best love songs I've ever heard. All in all, this album is great. Just a stunning debut.

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
70

Generally favorable reviews - based on 23 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 14 out of 23
  2. Mixed: 8 out of 23
  3. Negative: 1 out of 23
  1. PopMatters
    60
    SVIIB make good on the promise of their early seven-inches and EPs with this debut full-length for Ghostly International.
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  2. AllMusic
    90
    What pushes these songs past mere worship involves cunning collisions of robust rhythm, caressing noise, and heavenly melody, with each element equally crucial. Good shoegaze/dream-pop bands mastered one of them; the most exceptional of the heap, like this group, had all three down.
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  3. Spin
    70
    Alpinisms' sweeping, ethereal pop owes a stylistic debt to My Bloody Valentine and the Cocteau Twins, but the debut album by former Secret Machines guitarist Ben Curtis' new project reveals a range of influences and a sophisticated approach to arrangement that sets the trio well apart from less imaginative latter-day shoegazers.
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