Seven Day Jesus

Item: Seven Day Jesus
Author: Mark J. Aylor

(1997)

Reviewed by Mark J. Aylor

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Label 5 Minute WalkThe Phantom Tollbooth1997

alternative rock garage rock power pop

The publicity machine has tried to set Seven Day Jesus up as another Audio Adrenaline. Please! Sure it's mainstream radio alternative, sure it's put out by ForeFront, but this is more a poor rip-off of the Gin Blossoms than another Audio Adrenaline; one is enough, especially when this one is nowhere near as good as the original. This album doesn't have the energy, the fun, or the excitement of the Gin Blossoms--definitely Christian teenybopper material. It will draw a huge following of teenage girls, but the more mature audience will be sick of it after the first listen or two. I wouldn't mind my daughter listening to this because of its message, but I would hope she has more taste than this.

Who is Seven Day Jesus? For those who don't already have crushes on one of them: Brian McSweeney sings and plays lead guitar; Chris Beaty is on rhythm guitar; Kevin Adkins plays drums; and Dwayne Larring hits the bass. They combine to create a sound that is bland, boring, and dull. Take this same music, and give it to the Gin Blossoms, and they could make it come alive, but as it is, it just sits there and goes nowhere.

Seven Day Jesus say their name is about taking Jesus with you seven days a week, not just on Sundays. This message is clear and well stated in their lyrics, although in a somewhat juvenile manner. What they have to say is ageless, timeless, and could be very inspiring if it was not lost in the stale music.

To give you a flavor of SDJ, probably the best song is the first track "Down With The Ship." It contains just a hint of how good these guys could be. The guitars have a nice jangly sound with a bit of distortion to give them buzz; the verses are thoughtful and set up the song for a powerful chorus, but that is where it all falls apart. The musical energy shuts down, and the chorus leaves a lot to be desired:

I look at the TV
Everybody's going crazy right in front of me
From the talk show to the cop show to the news
Now I choose my poison with my remote control
There's no control

Everyone I see is sinking
Getting deeper in the water they don't know
The ship about to go
But I don't want to go

Now I see this world was never meant to be
My true affection
So as it sinks I never fear for You are still
You're my protection, I'm never going to go

Chorus:
Down with the ship
I say you and me could
Find a better way
To get to shore
I don't care what anyone might say
I don't want to go

The only other song that shows half as much potential as "Down with the Ship," is "End of My Rope." Some of the songs, like "Butterfly" and "Everybody Needs Love," sound sugar coated to the point of sickening sweetness--listening to these songs is like eating a bowl of super sweet cereal with whole milk.

Eddie DeGarmo's production hand is very heavy on this release -- like most music he gets his hands on, he manages to wring the vitality out of it with his over-production. Just pick up any DeGarmo and Key album to see what I mean. This may be to a large extent why the music sounds so insipid, instead of having that spark I usually connect with this sound.

I would not write these guys off, but I would not buy this either. There is so much potential here for SDJ to be the Gin Blossoms of CCM, but this effort falls short. While this release may not live up to expectations, there is always next time. I will wait and see how their follow up sounds before I write them off totally.

2.5 tocks