Sevenglory Atmosphere 7 Spin Music Rock 10-30-2007

SCORE 87%

Sevenglory’s sophomore album, Atmosphere, has a pedigree that can’t be beat: Don Chaffer and Ian Eskelin produced, Brandon Heath did some co-writing, and on top of all those riches, the four band members themselves are all pastors’ kids. Pastors’ kids that rock.

The ten tracks of Atmosphere offer well crafted pop rockers, solid musicianship, but also a highly focused and challenging call to move our faith from our minds and hearts into the world. It’s a message presented with style and sincerity, the best way to deliver such a call. Frontman/guitarist Fred Butson says they wanted to “do something as a band that was bigger than themselves,” and it comes across as quickly as the opening track, the energetic, buoyant “All You Want.” Addressing our common but unspoken tendency to compare ourselves with others rather than Christ, the upbeat track injects a bit of punk and a heavier dose of honesty, both aimed with great precision.

Brandon Heath had a hand in the tongue-in-cheek challenge of pop-rocker “Just Me,” asking: “Is it possible all anybody needs/ is a little bit more love?” or “maybe it’s just me.” Ian Eskelin’s playfulness is all over Sevenglory’s take on the familiar 1 Corinthians 13, “Let It Be Love.” Thick guitar riffs and nailed down percussion pound out the fat hook mercilessly, setting the stage nicely for the contrasting spare piano chords that open standout track “The Hope.” Butson’s clear vocals soar in this call to care, while layered background vocals add to the sweet mix of direct challenge and ambient sound.

I loved the old school blues-rock changes of “Even the Blues,” with its lofty hook and vital message of freedom. Butson gets to stretch out vocally here, and the timing fits like a glove, his passion dripping richly through the call to face our feelings honestly on this standout track. There’s a lot going on in the heavily nuanced title track, and several listens later you’re still hearing new things. A recurring Mid-eastern riff peaks out through a building wall of sound to add to the track’s thick ambience; give yourself time to take it all in.

It’s easy to hear Ian Eskelin’s touch again on the cleverly written closer, “Show Me the Light.” Sevenglory takes one final shot on this guitar-driven upbeat track to remind us again, and rightly so, that we’re here for a purpose, and it’s not supposed to be our own. Atmosphere only confirms what debut Over the Rooftops promised:  a very significant band.