Personality Rules Over All
Waking up before my alarm will always be a thorn in my side; how could 30 more minutes of sleep affect my day? Today it could have cost me $200. I’ve been gambling online for the past week as a birthday trip to Las Vegas didn’t come to fruition, so the money I saved has been burning a hole in my pocket. Today I woke up exactly one hour before my alarm and decided to sit at my computer and spin a few slots before logging into work, and today was a lucky day. I hit $215 on a 30 cent bet, after which I instantly cashed out and returned to daydreaming about hitting big again.
Also, today, the new Phoenix outfit 707s released their first EP Supercharged on Atwater Records. Six songs coming in at a little under 11 minutes, the first track Bliss opens fast and shrouds your ears in a blanket of euphoric fuzz, noise, and guitar strings bent and distorted just the right amount. Bliss sets the pace for the rest of the record.
Track two, titled Flowers to Hide, is opened expertly by a distorted, heavy baseline, which gives way to a very catchy chorus that I’ll probably be humming to myself this weekend. It doesn’t linger too long, which most bands of this sound tend to do. Vocalist Crod sings, “I try not to waste your time,” and he means it.
Supercharged draws to a close with a track called Candy, opened by a tiny guitar lick that sounds like Neil Young went to art school instead of living on a ranch, which then builds into a soaring instrumental group melody. Crod offers a whining solo to close the record out as a send-off to paradise.
It’s still summertime in Phoenix, 100 degrees by 9 am, the sun shining until 7 pm, and the asphalt blistering until well after 10 pm. This record is a summertime soundtrack for driving with the windows down and spending time with people you love.
I don’t think it was an accident that Supercharged was released on the same day I hit big at the casino; it must be my lucky day. On repeat, I listen and try to articulate what I enjoy about the music. I keep arriving at personality. Music doesn’t have personality anymore, but 707s does.
* * *
707s is Crod, Anthony, and Seth.