Here Comes The Brand New SevenCollar T-Shirt

This is it. My second album review. The 'suspect' this time is none other than SevenCollar T-Shirt's latest LP (Thanks, Ham). Enjoy.


Suspect: SevenCollar T-Shirt
Exhibit: Drones
Price To Pay: RM 25.00
Crime Scene: -Classified- (Will be available throughout all major record stores on November 8th)


What do 'anthemic', 'majestic', 'dramatic' and 'distinctive' all have in common? Besides being expressive vocabularies, you can find these words safely tucked in Seven Collar T-Shirt's second offering, Drones which is without doubt 2004's highly-anticipated release by a local indie outfit.

To kick things off, it's a big relief that not only they've avoided the infectious 'sophomore slump' that often affects prominent bands throughout the decade; they've also reinvent themselves beyond any expectations. Long gone are their trademark jam-band material replaced with focused, meticulous songs that evokes many emotions all at the same time. It's safe to say that Drones is a far cry from Freeway, Dreaming & Broke. Think of the gap between Radiohead's Pablo Honey and OK Computer. You'll get what I mean.

The album's opener, "Renaldo Moon" is a killer. Thumping baselines, abrasive guitars and surreal dynamics seems to be the band's current forte as evident on this track. If this song hits major airwaves, it'll be goodbye bedroom dreams, hello Anugerah Industri Muzik (AIM) nomination. The drama gets murderous once you move on to the next track. Aptly titled, "Brand New Number One". It grows on you insanely upon first listen. "Faith" is arguably the strongest song in this album. Duan's singing is haunting, the guitars are incredibly crystal clear, Ham's multi-faceted guitar noodlings is as complimenting as ever and oh that anthemic sing-along section! It's like having your first orgasm on repeat every 5 minutes or so. The title-track is perhaps, the album's oddball. Built almost entirely on Duan's multi-pitched, orchestrated musings, it soon became clear that this is it. This is what the whole album is all about. A nursery rhyme lullaby sweetly delivered to remind us that it's okay to forgive and forget. It's okay to be afraid. We have each other and it's all that matters.

As mentioned earlier, this album has a lot to offer. There's anthemic ("The Boohoorah Theory", "In Hiding (Like A Child)"), complex ("The Works", "Summary"), brooding ("War Is Over"), intimate ("People Under The Pillow", "Chemicals") and...I'll leave it to you to figure out the rest. The band's emphasis on experimenting with song structures and angular dynamics explains the shortness of the song's duration. It's quite a clever strategy. It keeps you wanting to hit the "Repeat" button more than ever because you can just get enough of its wholesome goodness. I tried my best trying to pin down any downside, faults, flaws and whatnot about this release because it's just too good to be real. But in the end, I give up. Roslan Aziz did a fab job in mixing the album and he has proved yet again (more relevantly, to the urban scene) why he is one of the best record maker in the nation. New drummer Adil showcased that you don't have to be highly technical to be a good drummer and that age is nothing but a number (he's the youngest in the band at only 19 years of age). He handled things behind the drum kit very well. I've said this once, and I'm saying it again. As an avid fan myself, I'm not being biased. This album does deserve an AIM award. Bottom line is, this is not just a standout record. It's outstanding.


Reviewed by:
Farhan Fadzlishah

(This review is also available here)

It'll be in stores tomorrow folks. Go and bug your parents, ask them for an advance duit raya if you don't have the cash. Your Raya will be something meaningful this time around. Rest assured.