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Album Details

• Artist: 7 Months Later
• Album: Time To Decide
• Label:
• Year of Release: 2011
• ME Rating:
• Reviewed by: charlesmartel on 2011-07-22

How often have we been told that, when applying for a job, you have to make your resumé stand out from the rest of the pack in order to be successful? That same thinking can also be applied to the many many bands which proliferate under the label of Alt. Rock and originate from the United States. Such bands play in a crowded field and compete with others for the same limited place in the sun. Such are the hurdles, or opportunities facing 7 Months Later.

Hailing from Florida and all of them being under 20 years old, having started out as friends from way back in their early- to mid-teens, 7 Months Later have released their first album, Time to Decide, to some considerable local support. In some ways the title is apt for now indeed is the time for all who hear it to decide whether this quartet have what it takes to stand out from the crowd.

As is to be expected the band have a sound which is eerily familiar at first. Echoes of bands such as Incubus are brought to mind, even if vocalist Chris Ganoudis does sound a lot like Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong, especially on the opening number, "Outlines" which has that pop-punk feel to it, complete with some lo-fi production effects. But 7 Months Later seem to recognise that they need to display some diversity in order to get noticed, for the second track, "Disengage" has a more hard rock feel to it in the vein of say, the Foo Fighters, and thereafter each song has a certain distinctiveness which sets it apart from the other tracks on the album.

The most successful numbers are perhaps the most surprising from a source such as this. The acoustic guitar led number "All Out" provides a break from the driving up-tempo numbers before and after it. "La Douleur" is a piano-led piece which displays a good deal of maturity in its lyrics. Both benefit from a change of place and provide the evidence that 7 Months Later are not just a one-trick pony.

Time to Decide is an admirable first album. It displays some potential and offers up the prospect of something different from the standard fayre alt. rock. If the band can keep this up they may just find themselves near the front of a very long queue.

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