Photo by Andrew Nordstrum
Albums are rarely completed as quickly as artists would like, but for The New Seven, the wait was particularly trying. Progress on the folky Milwaukee rock group’s new album Look Closer, Say Something stalled frequently, first by injury, when singer/guitarist Tony Smith was sidelined by hand surgery, and then by personal issues. The quartet went on hiatus after parting ways with a member, and recording resumed only after he rejoined the group. For a band that formed only about three years ago, they’ve already been through a lot.
Along the way, the band’s sound evolved, as the mostly acoustic folk and bluegrass that they initially set out to play increasingly took on rock’s volume and texture, thanks to the addition of drummer Nick Lang. Look Closer splits the difference between the two styles, dividing its runtime between intimate, finger-picked tunes and jammier, more rock-minded diversions.
“We wanted to take this snapshot of what we had done and where we were at this certain point because we were right in the midst of switching gears and going more electric and using percussion,” Smith says. “Even after recording this album, we have enough material for another album, which we hope to record soon, but with this album we were at a really good spot to highlight our roots and our direction at the time. It was a two-year process we went through from recording to getting the CD in hand, and I’m happy that I can honestly say that when we listen to the album now, it doesn’t sound like it’s outdated. It’s a really comfortable representation of us that we haven’t moved on from yet. And that was something I was worried about, because it took so long to finish the thing.”
All four members of The New Seven share a common training. They met as music majors at UW-Milwaukee, and they each bring a music student’s sense of discipline to the album. Even the seemingly most simple songs on Look Closer are adorned with subtle displays of musicianship—a fingerpicked flourish here, an unexpectedly refined bass fill there.
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If there’s a disadvantage to playing with formally trained musicians, Smith has learned, it’s that it can sometimes cost the music its spontaneity. “I know we’ve definitely been at points where I have listened to some of our stuff and thought, ‘Oh man, that doesn’t have any heart to it, or any soul,’” Smith says. “Then we need to go back and un-think some things, and go back to try to get a more visceral, emotional response to the music. So there are points where we get really nerdy in practice and try to overanalyze things. But the best things happen when we don’t overthink them.”
Though it presents its own challenges, Smith says that shared music training is what has ultimately given this group its voice.
“There have been a lot of uneducated musicians that I’ve met and played with who make some awesome music,” Smith says. “But playing with these guys, since we all do have this way of communicating that I may not have with other musicians who haven’t studied particular aspects of music theory or composition, allows for a little bit of a wider potential in what we’re trying to do. Our dynamic range is probably what I’m most proud of with this group. When we’re playing, I feel we can move within a song from extremely subtle, intimate parts to just in-your-face, really intense sections, and I think a lot of times that’s because of the level of communication that I have with this group of people.”
The New Seven play an album release show Thursday, April 30 at Hotel Foster with Calliope and Ladders.
