Six Parts Seven
Casually Smashed To Pieces
Suicide Squeeze
Instrumental albums can bore me, unless it’s classical music and I’m wanting to be lulled into dreamland. With Six Parts Seven the lack of a vocalist only contributes to the beautifully poetic soundscapes created in under 30 minutes on the surprisingly moving Casually Smashed To Pieces.
The cover of this album is a drawing of an armored viking, staring the listener down. From the Nordic image, I prepared my ears for something harsh, something high-pitched and grating. What I was given instead was soft guitars, trumpets, clarinets and pianos that had more in common with folk and Americana than the metal the symbol would hint at.
So why the viking? Maybe to throw the listeners off-guard. Had the cover screamed “This band has no singer!” I may have not given it the chance it deserves.
In the Ohio band’s bio, guitarist/bassist/arranger Allen Karpinski explains, “Our music should be enjoyed, it shouldn’t be intellectualized.”
Suicide Squeeze Records: http://www.suicidesqueeze.net
