Release Date: 23 January 2007 (Suicide Squeeze)
Six Parts Seven is an instrumental band from Kent, Ohio. They mix electric guitars, bass, sub bass, drums, keyboards, banjos, lap steel guitars, trumpets, and clarinets into an original mixture. On Casually Smashed To Pieces, the band creates very soothing songs and relaxing landscapes. They've released seventh full length album (fourth released on Suicide Squeeze Records). They've also released an EP that was split with The Black Keys.
Stolen Moments (mp3) [removed] | Falling Over Evening (mp3) [removed] | Night Behind The Stars (mp3) [removed]
Ronnie has one dream. He wants to be a mime. But, to him, it’s more than trying to get himself stuck in an invisible box. He wants to express this wordless art form in a new and original way, to move people to a new level of understanding through a silent performance, to relax the mind and spirit of an audience while stimulating them.
Ronnie presses play on his CD player and Six Parts Seven’s new album, Casually Smashed To Pieces, begins playing. The mellow, comforting sounds of the first track, “Conversation Heart,” resonate throughout his giant, single room loft. The tones of the slow electric guitar and banjo picking countermelodies fill the space.
He stands in front of his mirror. The second piece, “Stolen Moments,” kicks in. As the full band (drums, bass, trumpets, electric guitars) swirls around the landscape, Ronnie gently applies the makeup to his face. He is clothed in black from head to toe and tries to dress his face to appear more childlike, highlighting cheekbones and eyes while disguising the wrinkles that have begun to occupy his skin.
The soundtrack changes to “Knock At My Door.” Once again, the electric guitars initiate the piece. One guitar picks a peaceful line while the other slowly works a bent melody. Ronnie is practicing various facial expressions. He bends and shapes his face into common visages – gloomy, content, infuriated, bewildered, surprised, heartbroken, and more. The melodies in the song are passed from one instrument to the next until they finally come back to the electric guitars as a new piece of song – like a musical version of the childhood game of telephone.
Ronnie now exercises his body, beginning with stretches and then pacing the loft floor. “Falling Over Evening” accompanies these movements. The track begins with guitars and drums, and shows its aural range with the addition of high-end slide guitar and the low depths of sub bass. The tempo builds. The pacing then volleys back and forth. As the track ends with the sub bass tones, Ronnie is finished with his workout and ready to begin his main show.
Ronnie is tightly wrapped into a small ball on the floor. The song “Awaiting Elemental Meltdown” comes through the speakers. It starts with a small amount of ambient noise before the electric guitars begin their picking. Ronnie slowly outstretches his arms and moves them around his rigid, round shape, fists revolving his figure. The song lays a layer of warm timbres created with lap steel guitar, which evolve into a twangy tone. As his arms continue to revolve, Ronnie’s body gradually unravels. The song ends with upper register picking and the mime is nearly erect.
“Confusing Possibilities” has harmonic guitar plucks and full guitar chords trading off licks. Ronnie dangles his arms by his body and lumbers like an ape. The song picks up tempo, but the voicing sounds dark. The ape begins flexing his thumbs and starts walking more fluidly, but is still hunched at his shoulders. As the tones sound brighter, Ronnie’s shoulders start to fall into place. His head is still out in front of his body, but his shape is beginning to form. The song alters its dynamics and the mime settles into a casual stride. The track ends and our ape-like creature has evolved into a man with a strong posture.
Ronnie’s eyes confidently take in the surroundings of his loft. The steady strumming of “Night Behind The Stars” rolls through its 77 seconds and Ronnie’s eyes focus on a large ball he is struggling to hold in his arms. He fights to lift the massive sphere above his head, like Atlas.
Ronnie strains with each step. The electric guitar countermelodies of “Everything Wrong Is Right Again” pick multiple layers of sound. The ball begins to weigh too much. Ronnie somehow moves his body in a way that makes the invisible mass above his head appear to take over his body. The ball slowly overcomes him. As the final notes of Casually Smashed Into Pieces sustain, he again holds his body in a tight wound ball.
www.suicidesqueeze.net/6x7.html
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