SEVEN YEAR PLAN (13 SONG CD)
I still haven’t seen Seven Year Plan but Andy has reviewed them live and I put my trust in his valued opinion. Some recorded material was reviewed by me after that but, as I wrote at the time, I was hoping it was a demo tape because of the poor recording quality; though, at the time, I thought I heard some promising stuff under all the muck.
At a recent Street Dogs show; Ian, from the excellent Brass N Ammo promotions, slipped me a copy of what is, or what is going to be, their new full length. Actually, I believe he was selling bootleg copies of the cd at the show but he made me promise not to tell anyone. Unfortunately, I didn’t think that referred to the police (benefit happening soon for him).
So these guys play pop/punk with strong clean vocals, hooky guitar lines along with pulsating sometimes syncopated beats in the rhythm section. I compared them to Bouncing Souls and Screeching Weasel in the last review but for a classic punk reference I’m gonna go with the Buzzcocks, as they have the same energy, pop sensibility and ringing guitar lines, as that great band
My favorite tune is the second one on the cd called “Sore Loser.” It’s one of their faster songs. All of their songs are upbeat but they never delve into hardcore speed. It starts with four chords that lead into a melodic guitar lick until it’s a blasting guitar and rhythm section pushing the vocals along with maybe a few pauses here and there for the lick to play alone. This goes along splendidly until the ending where the four chords come in once again to lead you out on your merry way.
Two of my favorite songs are “Fuck You” and “Get The Fuck Out.” It’s not like there’s a lot of swearing in the lyrics (I hate when people use fuckin’ bad language), and these song are more energetic than abrasive with the vocals more melodic than harsh.
Actually, I think there’s a lot more aggression in the lyrics that I’m missing as it’s easy to get caught in all the energy and melody whizzing by. “4 AM” is another winner, a time I’m quite accustomed to, a time when I’m conscious but sometimes not too aware of it.”Do you realize what time it is?” the singer asks. “FOUR A.M.” the rest of the band yells emphatically.
So it would seem Seven Year Plan sound good live and on cd. I don’t know if they know these bands but I could see them fitting in nicely on bills with OC45 or The Pity Whores. We just have to all stay tuned to see what this Seven Year Plan actually entails.
(Jim Slimedog)
