New Music: The School: "Let It Slip" [MP3/Stream]

Cardiff, Wales' the School are holding a seminar in swaying, girl group-tinged indie-pop, and the results come in somewhere between Glasgow's Camera Obscura and London's Lucky Soul. In fact, this septet recently signed to Spanish label Elefant, which has put out records by each of the aforementioned groups. Led by the surname-less Liz, who used to be the lead singer for like-minded Cardiff band the Loves, the School pour on lavish Phil Spector strings and a bopping Northern soul rhythm section for this early version of "Let It Slip" (the track will be cut again for an Elefant single).

In the song, Liz's narrator wants her lover to let slip a troubling secret: "If you ever leave me, will you go back to her?" The bitter ache beneath her sweet vocal is the fear that this chump really loves someone else more than her. We never find out if he does, but the handclaps and oohing harmonies are a reminder that the Pipettes weren't the last word in indie-pop for the One Kiss Can Lead to Another set.

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