Most blogged artists: School of Seven Bells, Sharon Van Etten

(Vagrant Records/Abbey Drucker)

New York dream-pop group School of Seven Bells is the most popular act in the music blogosphere on July 7, according to The Hype Machine. Electronic funk duo Chromeo and Los Angeles surf-pop duo Best Coast are in second and third, while Brooklyn singer-songwriter Sharon Van Etten has just entered the top ten.

School of Seven Bells - a trio that includes a set of identical twins - releases its second album, Disconnect from Desire, on July 12, and is currently streaming the album in its entirety on the band's website. Bloggers are sharing tracks from the album, especially the downloadable "Windstorm," and sharing thoughts on the tracks. Chromewaves (chromewaves.net) writes, "The key facets of the Seven Bells sound - which is to say the gorgeous vocals and harmonies of the Deheza sisters and the guitars of Benjamin Curtis cutting through the meticulously programmed beats and textures - are wholly intact and even more refined than on their debut, but delivered with a sleekness that was only invoked only sparingly on Alpinisms."

Folk singer-songwriter Sharon Van Etten, who has performed with The Antlers, The National, Bon Iver, and Megafaun, has a second album, Epic, due out in October. The last song on the seven-song album, called "Love More," has just be made available for download and is being passed around the blogosphere. Bloggers are also sharing details about the new album: in addition to Van Etten's guitar and vocals, Epic will feature drums, piano, lap steel, and backing vocals provided by Meg Baird of Espers and Cat Matino and Jessica Larrabee of She Keeps Bees.

The 10 most blogged artists on The Hype Machine on July 7 at 11:00am GMT (with change in position from June 30):

• School Of Seven Bells (re-entry)
• Chromeo (unchanged)
• Best Coast (+2)
• M.I.A. (re-entry)
• Sharon Van Etten (new)
• ceo (re-entry)
• Local Natives (re-entry)
• Fol Chen (re-entry)
• of Montreal (-8)
• Two Door Cinema Club (re-entry)


Launched in 2005, The Hype Machine aggregates information from more than 1,000 music blogs worldwide. Known for identifying up-and-coming artists, the site enables music fans to easily find out what music is hot in the blogosphere and to instantly hear and buy mp3s.

http://hypem.com