'Everyone has ghosts', says Alejandra Deheza, the voice of School of Seven Bells. 'They're every love you've ever had, every hurt, every betrayal, every heartbreak. They follow you, stay with you.' Ghostory tells the story of Lafaye, a young girl surrounded by ghosts.

There's something ghostly about Alejandra Deheza's vocals; she remains detached, aloof, drifting above the beats and soundscapes conjured by guitarist/producer Benjamin Curtis. Mining the rich ore of gloomy British music from the past 3 decades, they condense and refine Bernard Sumner's ringing guitars, like on album opener 'The Night', with submersive dubstep sub-bass, with Deheza's vocals sprinkled like confectioner's sugar over slick club beats, to create a mutant strain of darktranceshoegaze. With a distinctive DSP sheen, reminiscent of Ulrich Schnauss or M83's epic grandeur, there is also a decided lack of grit and muscle. Many have declared this record destined for high-end clothing boutiques and cafe's the world over, best to be politely ignored, but it successfully evokes an otherworldly quality, like being wrapped in cotton or sterile gauze. It is the sound of a detached eye, floating through hyper-saturated, overly colorful streets, feeling like a stranger.

On Ghostory, SVIIB have pared down to a duo, after the departure of longtime member Claudia Deheza, making Ghostory a more intimate, organic affair, with Alejandra Deheza and Ben Curtis jamming and writing in real-time, more of an interplay than a bricolage of bric-a-brac, but i still don't get the feeling that they are in a room together, like they're afraid to look at each other. Alejandra Deheza is the wind; Curtis is the rising tide.

The superb production guarantees that Ghostory will sound great through a club's PA, and tracks like 'Low Times' or 'White Winds', with their infectious disco grooves, will be instant DJ favorites, with the gorgeous and open 'Reappear' will slacken the ecstacy hangover. School of Seven Bells have released an impressive body of work, so far, and they show themselves to be constantly evolving. I saw them live, at a Ghostly International showcase in Seattle this last summer, and was blown away by their stage-show, more Radiohead than Tiesto, and proved to me that School of Seven Bells, and almost everything on Ghostly International, is worth paying attention to.