SCHOOL OF SEVEN BELLS

Sitting in her home in L.A., her face framed by a curtain of bangs and sharply straightened black hair, Alejandra Deheza is filled with memories. Of her former life living in New York City. Of her band, School of Seven Bells. Of the group’s newly released final album, SVIIB , and what it took to finish it. And of course, the man, the musical partner—Benjamin Curtis—who was such a dominant part of her life. Of how he continues to be even after his death.

“Every day is different,” says Deheza. “I feel like I’m at a point where I can talk about the record—so that’s good. It’s honestly—I know this sounds so trite—but it’s seriously one day at a time. That’s just how it is. There’s good days and there’s bad days.”

is filled with its own kind of memories. Trembling with muscular synthesizers, drum machines, and Deheza’s phantasmal voice, the nine-song LP can often feel as though you’ve plugged into an exposed nerve, one left tender by an outpouring of emotional honesty. While there is indeed tragedy in the context is something celebratory. It is alive with what it means to share a connection with another person, and how we choose to carry that connection with us as long as we can. “I want the people who listen to it to feel how much love was there,” says Deheza. “And it’s not necessary the love that we had, but just this love that is there, that exists. It really does exist. And if that’s it, I’m happy.”