7 SECONDS - New Wind

Artist:  7 Seconds

Album: New Wind

Year:  1986

Genre:  Hardcore

“I’m not a ‘punker’, just a human being with the urge to exercise what’s in my heart and mind.”

Right or wrong, these are words I’ve held dear and lived by for a long time now.  7 Seconds recently announced their break-up and it’s hit me decently hard.  On one hand, I’m saddened that I will never see another show or ever get to hear a new record.  I’m much sadder to hear that health issues have taken this band’s 38 year career out of commission.  On the other hand, I’m thankful for the time I’ve gotten to spend with this band’s music.  The music, lyrics and people of 7 Seconds are more import and significant to me than any other band out there.   I’ve seen them live more than any other touring act.  They’ve been a personal and life-shaping experience.  I could sit for hours reciting the words and ideas of Kevin Seconds and attach them to social or situational aspects of my life.  Their influence on the way I compose songs is glaring to the few that have heard them.

 

My 32-year journey with 7 Seconds began with this very record after a review I read in my now yellowing copy of Death Row Zine from 1986.  I can’t say the review was overly glowing, but it was enough to make me check them out since I was diving into the punk world at that time.  After listening to New Wind over and over, I went on the search for the first two records…then the 7”s…and then waited for every subsequent release.  Anyone who has followed 7 Seconds’ path knows there have been some stylistic twists and turns, but, with all honesty, I can say I’ve loved close to everything they’ve produced.  Fanboy?  Yeah, probably.

New Wind saw the band make a hard pivot from their high-speed endeavors.  What was unusual was that the band was only 6 years old when they made the switch to songs that were slower and more melodic.  It’s as if they knew they would become like The Ramones if they kept going in the same direction.  Let’s be honest, only The Ramones can write the same type of record for 30 years and pull it off.  Only two songs on the album were reminiscent of what they previously released.  Of course, I didn’t know this and had zero preconceived notions of what I was hearing.  What I heard opened a whole new musical world for me and, maybe for the first time, lyrics had something meaningful to say.

When I listen to New Wind now, I get a whole different feeling than that angsty 16-year old I was previously, who really didn’t know shit about the world.  Many of the songs were written about some pretty heavy subject matters ranging from sexual assault, personal integrity, unity, keeping a positive stance in a dark world, and breaking the mold of the bullshit, typical tough-as-nails male facade.  Every song carries a message; some just aren’t as in your face as others.  The music is raw but melodic and has quite a unique sound.  Not full on punk or hardcore and not full on pop punk, but somewhere in between.  As stated, 7 Seconds let off the gas pedal a bit, but still retained the energy and spirit of their roots throughout the album.  They would keep evolving in this direction until their true return to hardcore on the awesome 1999 album Good To Go.

New Wind changed my world and opened my eyes and taught me to be a thinking, aware and caring human being.  It also created a life-long adoration for this pioneering band and the droves of punk and hardcore I plunged into after the fact.  I’m guessing this is the last time I write about this band.  Thank you Kevin, Steve, Troy, Bobby and the few other scattered members.  You have given me a gift that cannot be repaid.  I wish you well in all that is to come.

Listen to "The Inside" here.