Remember last week when I said to mark January 23, 2007 on your calendars as the release date for the new Shins record? Well, it turns out that might not even be the best album to come out that day, thanks to The Six Parts Seven. Based on the songs I’ve heard so far, their newest disc Casually Smashed to Pieces, promises to be even better than the far more anticipated Wincing the Night Away.
The Six Parts Seven’s brand of chamber-pop influenced instrumentals has never sounded so complete. Creating unique and lasting instrumental music is a tough task and although I enjoy all of their albums, it’s no coincidence that my favorite up to now was 2003’s Lost Notes From Forgotten Songs, which invited some big name indie artists to lay vocals on top of their spacey instrumentals. The additions added depth and texture, features often missing from even the best Six Parts Seven songs.
However, the new tracks from Casually Smashed to Pieces are fully realized in and of themselves. These songs are bursting with personality. To wit:
If I could date a song, it might very well be this one. Guitars that are warm and comforting with just a hint of mystery, horns that stand waiting for you in the baggage terminal after many months away from home, percussion that feels like a soft caress…I think I’m in love.
If “Stolen Moments” is the girl you want to spend your life with, “Falling Over Everything” is your best friend from high school who you haven’t seen in years. Things start off slow, almost awkward as you try and get a feel for all the lost time. The horns emerge partway, but retain a certain distance – past times together are clear in your heart and your mind but you’re not quite sure how to put it all together in this moment. A little over two minutes in, all the extra sounds drop away, leaving only the guitar, and suddenly, before you know it, you’ve fallen right into the old rhythm.
Still, there is restraint. This is not a song about the explosion of passion or the joy of youth – it is a reminiscence of those times. It possesses a strong and deep undercurrent of love, but one that is never explicitly acknowledged. Still, the song is all the stronger for not needing to wear such emotions on its sleeve. Subtlety wins out over brazenness and the steadfast over the ephemeral.
These are the only two songs available from the new record, but when I get the whole thing, I will be sure to post again. And while I’m here, how about my favorite song from Lost Notes…
On Marriage (re.defined by Carissa’s Wierd)
It combines everything that I love about Carissa’s Wierd with everything good about The Six Parts Seven. Gorgeous hushed harmonies singing bittersweet lyrics with just a glimmer of hope (“See you on our wedding day, I can’t believe this turned out my way / Broke her heart to just save mine, I’ll love you on our wedding day”), delicate fluttering piano, it’s all here.
Head over to Suicide Squeeze Records to get a couple more MP3s, and check out some of their other bands while you’re there – they’ve got a ton of great ones.