SVIIB is the 4th and, regrettably, final studio album from dream-pop/synth-pop band School of Seven Bells. Benjamin Curtis, one of the principles in the band died from lymphoma during the middle of recording the album, which was finished by his romantic and creative partner, Alejandra Deheza, with the support and assistance of  producer Justin Meldal-Johnsen.

The album set the tone with the driven and exultant Ablaze, a song about being brought to life again. “You set my heart ablaze”, sings Deheza, and the song makes you feel it.  As the album progresses, it is both elegiac and sweetly melancholic, with clear remembrances of one partner for another, and a joy expressed in having had the experience.

Recommendation: Buy It

Songs I have a Playlist For: Ablaze, Open Your Eyes. A Thousand Times More, Elias

Clunkers I will Thumbs Down: Didn’t have one for this album.