Hometown: Gothenburg, Sweden.
The lineup: Efraim Kent, Alice Botéus, Felix Andersson, Per Svensson.
The background: If you saw the BBC Sound of 2015 longlist and thought: “Nice lineup, but can we have some actual, you know, bands?” – well, here’s one. They’re a Sundays/Smiths type of four-piece from Scandinavia, which means the guitars are set to glacial, and the chill factor is high. They’re resolutely indie, although their choruses, even given the instrumental melee, are often severe. Listen once to Botéus’ soaring and keening voice over the guitar/bass/drums and it will probably recall a less sonically extreme Cocteau Twins or a less surreal, more sorrowful Sugarcubes. Listen again, and you might agree with certain reviewers who have discerned in School 94’s music a punchy pop sensibility reminiscent of 80s American new-wavers such as Pat Benatar.
School 94 were originally called School, but had to change their name because another outfit were already using it. It has proven fortuitous because the year-appendage creates a nostalgia for a specific time, a yearning that imbues their dreampop with unfulfilled desire.
You can’t make out all the words: the production isn’t quite the full Robin Guthrie sunburst/snowblind, but it’s certainly deserving of the epithet “crystalline”. The discernible phrases suggest that loss, longing and heartache are top of the curriculum. “Oh, remembering,” she sighs on Like You, the lead track on their debut EP, over rolling, cascading drums. There’s a lightness to the sound, even if the subject matter is heavy. It reminds us of Ellie Goulding before she was famous, when she was good. This isn’t indie by numbers, it’s a proper, well-constructed tune. Head Over Here is a fabulous fast one, more of an In Our Angelhood than a Sugar Hiccup. There is a breathtaking transition at 2m 30s, and devotion throughout to propulsive melancholy. Hang Out in Haze is staccato, Clouds Aside billowy. The sonics aren’t so forbidding that they get in the way of the song, but nor are they guilty of banal plucking and strumming. The music peals, with an instant appeal. What’s that sound? This Chiming Band.
The truth: A masterclass in indie songcraft.
Most likely to: Teach minor-key ethereality.
Least likely to: Get a detention.
What to buy: The Like You EP is out now on Cascine (US)/Luxury (Scandinavia), digital only.
File next to: Sundays, Cocteaus, Sugarcubes, Chvrches.
Links: facebook.com/school94music.
Ones to watch: Kid Astray, Koudlam, HollySiz, Of Empires, Hearts.
