Seven Mary Three – Day&Nightdriving
Bellum Records (02/19/08)
Rock / Alternative
“Remember you said you’d rather be scared then bored to death with one another / You’d rather be broke and trying than sit still dying”
—From “Break the Spell”
It’s never easy to feel like you are constantly being measured against your first big hit. Such may have been the case for Seven Mary Three. The band’s first hit, “Cumbersome”, still finds its way into many rock radio playlists to this day. But it was never an adequate representation of what the band had to offer. So, rather than re-writing the same album over and over, the band chose its own road, and in the process crafted some of the most criminally overlooked albums of the last decade. And like each album that preceded it, the band’s latest, Day& Nightdriving is chock-full of great rock music.
Sure, the blistering opener “Last Kiss” might not match the ferocity and emotion of, say, “Water’s Edge” or “My My” (both off the band’s debut, American Standard), and the melancholic appeal of “Hammer & a Stone” or “She Wants Results” doesn’t quite measure up to “Lucky” or “Make Up Your Mind” (off Rock Crown), but all are a solid addition to the band’s catalogue.
There’s something to be said for reliability, and Seven Mary Three is one of the most reliable bands to exit the ’90s still intact. The group has been putting together killer rock albums for over a decade, and yet somehow still manages to fly well below the radar. The songwriting skills are exemplary: the lyrics are smart, the stories are captivating and the music casually drifts between solid rock (“Last Kiss”, “Was a Ghost” or “Break the Spell”) and melodic dirges (“Hammer & a Stone”, “Strangely at Home Here” or “Dead Days in the Kitchen”), all with a slight Southern twist. Hell, most of the latter tracks have an almost country feel (or perhaps more Americana). Add to all this Jason Ross’ instantly recognizable and completely unique vocal styling and each song is always a hit.
Speaking of “Cumbersome”, that song really only got to where it is by be a catchy rock track that had just the right hook. Seven Mary Three are so far past that. Just take a listen to “You Think Too Much”. Not only is it equally as catchy, but the lyrics blow “Cumbersome” right out of the water. On top of that, instead of relying on a word or chorus for the hook, the entire song’s melody is the hook here. This is definitely one of the band’s best songs.
With such a broad range to which to appeal (rock music for fans of Counting Crows all the way to Three Doors Down, all the way down to the slight country twang), there’s a little bit of something for everyone. The band sort of got lost in the shuffle as the music landscape shifted again and again in the late-’90s, but stayed true to itself and for that should be commended. More people deserve to be listening to this music…
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