For about the past month or so, I’ve been talking about the new Seven Mary Three album, day&nightdriving. I can’t count how many times I’ve posted that same exact link here, but if anyone wants to figure it out, maybe I’ll give you a cookie.
Needless to say, there are very few bands that I get all “fan-boy” over. If you know me well enough, you know that it comes down to just a handful, with them being the ones that I have posted on my links page, primarily. Seven Mary Three happens to be one of them. From the first time that I saw them in 2002–when I actually was able to get up on stage and sing with the band–I’ve been to a total of four of their shows, and this Friday and Saturday, I’ll be able to bring that total up to six. Always with a strong show and a back catalog of over 5 albums of material, they’re a forgotten rock gem.
Five albums? I should say six with this new one. The guys known solely for “Cumbersome” and “Water’s Edge” are once again striking at their mold with their new release, day&nightdriving. Twelve tracks long, the style of the album most mimics their sophomore album, Rock Crown with varying harder and softer songs and intricate arrangements of guitars and other instruments. My fan-boy nature aside, this album struck me at first listen. I really didn’t know what to think of it. I didn’t like the flow from song-to-song, and I had to play it again. And on the second listen, I started to get it. I really saw the sonic landscape and it made perfect sense. This album isn’t an album that you’ll put in for instant gratification, no not first listen at all, but this is an album that you’ll put on to let grow with you. This is what an album should be and could be if more bands focused on their arts–strong collections of songs that you don’t want to skip over when you come to them because they don’t make sense to listen to in any other order; strong collections of songs that tell stories.
Let’s take a look at the individual tracks that make up this story…
1 - Last Kiss: The lead off single from the album, “Last Kiss” strikes hard and strong. The acoustic guitars layer up slowly to the peak of the electric guitars and the band coming in on the second verse/chorus area. Short, sweet, and to the point, the song feels very poignant on love lost and left behind, and the hook line that comes up in the chorus is fast, ferocious, and delivered with such passion that it emotes fully and wholeheartedly the wavered sentiments of the verses.
2 - Laughing Out Loud: And here is where the first jolt hits the listener. A bit of a slower paced song from the first one, “Laughing Out Loud” has a swampy muddy feel to it, with a few bright guitars that chime through from time to time. The real treat in this song is that even though the first track sort of showed you a more elaborate songwriting style, the lyrics here are beautifully interwoven right up to the end hook of the chorus. Because of the ever mutating nature of the chorus here, its a familiar and warm welcome.
3 - Was A Ghost: If the jarring change in the first two tracks wasn’t enough, by the time you come up to the reverb laced distorted intro to “Was A Ghost,” you’ll be scratching your head. A fan favorite from the first “T-I-M-E” that it was played, the “R-U-S-T rust” line has become a call-and-answer part of live shows. The lyrics shine over simple guitar riffs, but that’s the key to Jason Ross and Thomas Juliano’s back and forth nature with the music: very simple guitar parts by Ross with intricately weaved melodies and riffs by Juliano. Look for this again on the whole album.
4 - Dreaming Against Me: The album’s multi-faceted appearance is drawing close to a close by this point when the country-tinged “Dreaming Against Me.” The first few times I listened to it, the only thing I could think of that felt close to this stomp-happy song was Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Down on the Corner.” A happy sort of track with a very positive “Hey, everything’s gonna be alright” chorus that you’ll find yourself humming in your head away from the song, the lyrics really shine here as well.
5 - Hammer & a Stone: Speaking of lyrics and sides of the album, “Hammer & a Stone” is the perfect example of the softer acoustic nature of some of these songs. A long time solo track that’s been heard at acoustic shows, the longing nature of the track and the analogies and syllogisms with the imagery envelope the listener in the open road and a transition between the twilight and the dusk. The acoustic guitar blended with the piano and a touch of sustained guitar in the background all melds together perfectly.
6 - Break the Spell: Back to the swampy distorted nature of some of the songs, “Break the Spell” is an older track that fans have heard for many years coming. I personally have a live recording from 2003 with a different chorus, and the chorus has undergone a lot of rewriting, but the melody remains the same. And beyond all of that, I can tell you that I walk around singing this song myself because the hook line just gets stuck in your head. A perfect build-up and very simple melody that has beautiful overlaying of lead guitar, this song is what songwriting could and should be.
7 - You Think Too Much: I’ve used the word “swampy” to describe a lot of this album, and on “You Think Too Much,” it fits that bill, but in a similar vein of “Laughing Out Loud,” with a twist that sounds like it belonged on 7M3’s Economy of Sound album. Serving as a good lead-off to the proverbial side B of the album, this track doesn’t shine or sparkle but merely glows. Its a nice mid-tempo rocker that doesn’t stand out too much till you find yourself singing it later on, trying to remember why you didn’t notice it the first time through.
8 - Strangely at Home Here: First heard back in 2005 at their 10 year American Standard anniversary shows, “Strangely at Home Here” was immediately a fan favorite. A fun song that connects the listener and the music to a memory of a favorite bar or hang-out, the upbeat nature and acoustic laid back feel would make this one sparkle or shine as a later single from the album, or a beautiful B-side to any second single.
9 - She Wants Results: The familiarity of the songs might have sunk in to this point, but the sampled drums on “She Wants Results” will certainly wake you out of that rut. A quiet softer song that further makes you feel like you’re on the night side of things, the lyrics are softly woven around the format of the guitar and the blatant sample. As a whole, the track grows on the listener, and it just takes a while to sink in, but the pleading message of the chorus intertwines with things so desperately that you start to hear it differently very shortly.
10 - Upside Down: While “Dreaming Against Me” has a country-stomp feel, “Upside Down” has a bit more of an AM country feel. The longing in the chorus and the lines leading up to it are the perfect country two-step that most folks shy away from. But make no mistake, the thing that makes this un-country are Ross’s vocals. While still bordering the twang in a lot of places, the progression of the song forces onward from the basic driving nature and lets you feel more of a softer alt-country a là Train type of pain. To bypass this song would be a travesty. It feels slightly out of place, but makes more sense the more you listen to it.
11 - Dead Days in the Kitchen: Another softer acoustic piece that by this time you probably forgot were on this album, “Dead Days in the Kitchen” feels like it should be the absolute last track on the album. It has a complete resolution in its tone and voice, leading into the type of song that you’d imagine listening to on the end of a long night drive as you pulled into your driveway. Quiet and somber, that doesn’t mean this song still doesn’t have the flow. Very nicely done instrumentalization as a whole.
12 - Things I Stole: And if “Dead Days in the Kitchen” was the song that you’d listen to pulling into a driveway, “Things I Stole” is the track you’d sit in your garage and listen to before tip-toeing quietly into your house. With an impromptu feel of picking up some guitars, the country-ish nature of the song doesn’t belittle it in any manner. It feels like the perfect closer to the long journey just taken, even if its a step or two beyond what you expected.
As a whole, these tracks meld together in some sub-etheral way that as different as they are all individually apart, together they make sense. It is a true album in every sense and heart of the word, and I’d definitely recommend it to anyone who has a chance to pick it up as it releases today. Only $9.99 on iTunes, most stores have it for about the same price. Or if you’re in Orlando, you can pick it up at Park Ave CDs for about $12 and get a free ticket to see them at the Orlando House of Blues with opener Big 10-4 on February 23rd. It’s worth your money, trust me.
Besides, that’s the only way you’d get to hear them play new versions of “Cumbersome” and “Water’s Edge,” seeing they’re both not on this album.
