Days before School of Seven Bells even set foot in Tampa, the fan buzz was about anything but their music.

Claudia Deheza, twin sister of lead singer Alejandra, was nowhere to be found, having taken leave of her sibling and former Secret Machines guitarist Benjamin Curtis somewhere between California and Ybor City. Only cryptic postings on the New York band's Facebook fan page and Twitter feed, @sviib, gave any clues.

"Hi everybody. We just wanted to let you all know that Claudia has left the band for personal reasons," the postings read Tuesday, addressing concerns that Claudia had taken ill. "In the meantime, we are excited to continue to write and tour as usual, and we're very much looking forward to seeing you all at our upcoming shows. ♥ Alley and Benjamin"

I'd wanted to see them live since hearing Prefuse 73's Class of 73 Bells (a remix of Iamundernodisguise, a cut from 2008's Alpinisms), so the news was a bit of a shock. Would the Deheza twins' signature, ethereal harmonizing be at all intact with part of the equation missing? Not to worry, Curtis assured me via Twitter. ... Read more