Search - 7 Seconds :: Ourselves

Excellent, early emo from godfathers of straight-edge

Worgelm | United States | 06/19/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This was always my favorite 7 Seconds album. Like Dag Nasty and Government Issue, they made a largely unsuccessful leap to the now-defunct Giant label, perhaps in hopes of striking some REM-like charisma with the general buying public. Even with the dated "reverb over everything" production and "straight from the Crate" metal distortion, it still sounds good after all these years, and sounds huge compared to the tiny-sounding _Soulforce Revolution_. The speed-of-light one-two punk jackhammer approach of _The Crew_ has been sacrificed for burgeoning musicality. Steve Youth's snaking, busy bass work is generally quite impressive, and while Troy Mowat's drumming is a bit toned-down, it hasn't lost its power. One-album alum Bobby Adams contributes solid, occasionally-veering-on-epic guitar work (like the opener "Escape and Run"), with a strong aversion to solos. Most impressive are the downright funky "Save Ourselves" (which would fit just as well on _New Wind_) and the simple but amazing instrumental (!) "Sleep." The generic guitar tones and simple harmonies tend to cause the tracks to bleed together, and overall it could have used a bit more sonic diversity like _Soulforce_. But Seconds' sunny-side-up lyrics, toned down somewhat from the band's aggressive straight-edge past and occasionally just this side of cloying, generally strike the right notes. The album takes you out with a rollicking, but lyrically wistful "Seven Years", celebrating past members and past good times, which fades out with the band lightly chanting "If we can walk together, why cant we rock together" over some piercing feedback."