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Loveless kinda ruined it for everyone, didn’t it? Any entry into the shoegaze/dream pop arena begs the comparison, almost automatically an unfavorable one. And when I heard “Half Asleep” by School of Seven Bells, the temptation to shout, “Kevin Shields! Kevin Shields!” was almost too tough to ignore. But “Half Asleep” was just so darn good, a gorgeously gauzy pop song with ethereal vocals and spacey rhythms. It was more Galaxie 500/Cocteau Twins than Ride/Spacemen 3, but even though Loveless came after the best stuff from all of the aforementioned groups, My Bloody Valentine mastered the technique, so it’s theirs for the keeping. Reunion or not, MBV has been away from the scene long enough that I feel safe in dismissing the resemblance. Yes, much of School of Seven Bells’ sound owes plenty to Loveless, but I’ll love it anyway.

School of Seven Bells, named after a mythical (i.e., likely fictitious) cabal of Columbian pickpockets, is the band that Benjamin Curtis left Secret Machines for. Secret Machines toured with On!Air!Library! and the groups fractured, allowing for Curtis and the Deheza twins of O!A!L! to elope for a new group. I’m not sure which is more startling: that Seven Bells may share some aesthetic choices with Machines yet they sound nothing alike or that between this year’s Secret Machines and Alpinisms, the latter is the clear winner.

The Seven Bells source may be Columbian and alpinism is a European term for mountaineering, but the region referenced most in the music is the Middle East. I imagine these rhythms would waft out of a hookah bar as presented in a science fiction universe. Shoegaze for an alien Aladdin? At the very least, should a video ever be made for “Prince of Peace,” it better include harem girls. But despite the international flavor, these songs work in any culture. While the rhythm section keeps things moving (even on the more languorous songs), it’s the crisp accents and atmospheric caresses filling in the gaps that melt in your ears. A vibrant patchwork of psychedelia, jazz, Afro-beat, electro, mellow pop and acid rock, Alpinisms is equally adept at delivering a great individual cut as it is at mixing an entire full-length cauldron to bathe in.

Songs like “Wired for Light” and “Iamundernodisguise” are predicated on a polyrhythmic heavy drum stomp, a collaboration of tribal and tripping. Trip-hop itself is used as seasoning throughout, but never as fundamentally sparse and warped as, say, U.N.K.L.E. or Portishead. Instead, it lies low, influencing the percussion with deliberate weave patterns that are just barely imperfectly asymmetrical, while the guitars and keyboards wax and wane on the surface. Slow, dreamy numbers like “Face to Face on High Places” and “For Kalaja Mari” keep us intoxicated between the more hard-hitting (and catchier) tracks—like swimming from island to island. The extended motorik exercise, “Sempiternal/Amaranth,” runs a bit too long—and fumbles the album’s momentum—but it makes for fine background noise while we collect our thoughts. As for closer (and first single), “My Cabal,” it finds the difficult balance between stingy electronic bantering and a blanket of lush vibration.

Like Cocteau Twins, the heavenly harmony of the vocals is much more important than the language they use. It’s mostly conversational imagery, like when they hum, “Wishes turn out orphans, skip on the surface of the/Sky and sink, sky and sink/They break into the air with little faith and heap/A desert full of dunes, a desert full of dunes,” on “Wired for Light.” Some of it is rather evocative, such as, “Pulling the shadows over the moonlight,” and, “What begins as an unguarded/Train of thoughts slowly can become/An addiction…” But they’re mere syllabic junctures for Alejandra and Claudia Deheza’s united voices, entrancing like a siren’s song as they circle around Curtis’ bending guitar tones, and represent the most appealing aspect of a very appealing trio. Maybe the already otherworldly nature of their voices didn’t need to get a tonal glitch treatment on “Chain,” but otherwise it’s just about perfect.

It’s rare to hear an album that can cover so much ground but sound so specifically focused. Even if you’re bored with neo-shoegaze or have had your fill of aerobic rhythm exercises, there’s something for anyone to like on Alpinisms, and the alluring beauty of the golden-throated singing will draw you all the way through, whether you like it or not. Secret Machines fans may be thrown for a loop to hear what Ben Curtis is up to nowadays, but even if they prefer things heavier, they’ll also become a slave to this record. Indeed, anyone who doesn’t bail after just one or two songs will find it nearly impossible to dodge the rest. Rhythmically agile, tunefully relaxing and vocally divine, this is music that’ll worm its way into your head softly and stay with you for days.