Fuzzy Dice
15-02-2006, 12:18 PM
I first heard this album by way of my older brother, god, back in high school when it came out - September of '95. It's no longer new by any stretch, but to me, it never ages. It's not feelgood music, but it feels good, in that bittersweet kind of way. Track #2, Cumbersome, actually saw some radio play here a while back (it was a #1 hit), but it's the all vocal-and-drum song Punch In, Punch Out that addicted me to this sound.
The vocals have a gritty, warbling tone to them filled with a level of emotion you just don't expect to hear from a rock band these days. It's the trail end of grunge and a call for the spirit of the 70's, completely bypassing the materialism, synth and hair bands that sprung up in the between times.
You'll feel anger, hate, flawed love and the shouldering of the weight of the world combined with shame, grief and regret; This is the music of a man who lived his life a certain way - frivolous, shallow and judgmental - and then woke up one day to find that he'd been wrong, bound to decisions made without understanding their consequences and what his acceptance of that responsibility had done to him - how much he had to change and how he wished he'd been smarter, but that he would damned well be a man. The regret of wasted youth and a forced coming of age.
There's nothing extraordinarily unique about the guitar and base, but they're heady, powerful and fit the vocals to a t. The base guitar is never swallowed by the lead and the chords never feel recycled. The drums round out the emotional assault with a clean, unifying presence. At no time does any element of the music feel out of place in any given song.
If Cumbersome is the rallying cry of the album, then Punch In, Punch Out is it's soul. Where Cumbersome is up front and in your face, Punch In, Punch Out is compelling in it's simplicity and purity. Lame is a quiet acknowledgement of a personal fault and the aspirations to make amends and rise above it. Margaret has long been vying for my affections as favourite track on the album. It's a song about a whirlwind of passion and dealing with the repercussions... it's bold, beautiful and heartfelt. I'll just let Anything speak for itself:
I know I'm not the man of her dreams.
Daddy said she'd marry rich, rich, richer than me.
I know I'm not her man, but she can take anything
anything she wants. Anything at all...
Do you think it's just enough to know
how I wanted you to feel?
Read things back to me, back up
to see from where I am
there is nothing more than this, more than this.
Is it enough to say that I want you to keep it close to me?
Me, me is all I think about, but every word you say...
Do I mean anything?
anything at all?
You can listen to some of the tracks from each of their five albums on the website www.7m3.com. American standard was the first album released by the band, and I'd recommend giving Lame and My My a listen, for sure.
The vocals have a gritty, warbling tone to them filled with a level of emotion you just don't expect to hear from a rock band these days. It's the trail end of grunge and a call for the spirit of the 70's, completely bypassing the materialism, synth and hair bands that sprung up in the between times.
You'll feel anger, hate, flawed love and the shouldering of the weight of the world combined with shame, grief and regret; This is the music of a man who lived his life a certain way - frivolous, shallow and judgmental - and then woke up one day to find that he'd been wrong, bound to decisions made without understanding their consequences and what his acceptance of that responsibility had done to him - how much he had to change and how he wished he'd been smarter, but that he would damned well be a man. The regret of wasted youth and a forced coming of age.
There's nothing extraordinarily unique about the guitar and base, but they're heady, powerful and fit the vocals to a t. The base guitar is never swallowed by the lead and the chords never feel recycled. The drums round out the emotional assault with a clean, unifying presence. At no time does any element of the music feel out of place in any given song.
If Cumbersome is the rallying cry of the album, then Punch In, Punch Out is it's soul. Where Cumbersome is up front and in your face, Punch In, Punch Out is compelling in it's simplicity and purity. Lame is a quiet acknowledgement of a personal fault and the aspirations to make amends and rise above it. Margaret has long been vying for my affections as favourite track on the album. It's a song about a whirlwind of passion and dealing with the repercussions... it's bold, beautiful and heartfelt. I'll just let Anything speak for itself:
I know I'm not the man of her dreams.
Daddy said she'd marry rich, rich, richer than me.
I know I'm not her man, but she can take anything
anything she wants. Anything at all...
Do you think it's just enough to know
how I wanted you to feel?
Read things back to me, back up
to see from where I am
there is nothing more than this, more than this.
Is it enough to say that I want you to keep it close to me?
Me, me is all I think about, but every word you say...
Do I mean anything?
anything at all?
You can listen to some of the tracks from each of their five albums on the website www.7m3.com. American standard was the first album released by the band, and I'd recommend giving Lame and My My a listen, for sure.