A piece of advice that most would give to new bands is to form as many connections within the industry as possible. It certainly has its benefits, as 7 Minutes In Heaven would be the first to attest to, with half of the band flying to Los Angeles to write and connect with Cody Carson and Dan Clemont from Set It Off. The result was Better Off, the lead track from their new EP Symmetry, the sort of ambitious pop-punk jam that clearly has some star power woven into its DNA.
That’s not to give all the credit to outside sources by any means, as Symmetry on its own is the sort of release that earmarks 7 Minutes In Heaven as a welcome addition to an ever-growing pop-punk scene. It’s through fairly simple means as well, with songs that step up when they have to and a less-intrusive production job that keeps their natural texture relatively intact. In the latter case, it makes the As It Is comparison all the clearer (particularly with the cleaner / rougher vocal split between Timmy Rasmussen and Alex Rogers), but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing, and already it opens up possibilities for further emo and alt-rock-inspired directions in the future.
The big difference is, compared to As It Is in their earlier years, 7 Minutes In Heaven already feel much smoother and sure of themselves. The double-kick drums on Wishing Well aside, Symmetry is anchored in a very definite sound that still gives room to breathe and recombine each piece for slightly different results. Better Off and LOTL might be fairly standard pop-punk tracks (albeit ones with keen knowledge of energy and dynamic to hit that sweet spot), but Sweetest Sin is clearly painted with darker shades of emo, and Cellar Door works especially well as a soaring alt-rock ballad. None of this is really pushing the envelope, but it’s refreshing to see a young band like this already so comfortable in their own sound.
As far as new pop-punk bands go, Symmetry already sets 7 Minutes In Heaven a few streets ahead of their nearest competition, both because they’re already a far more assured proposition, and because, even though they’ve not totally found a sound of their own just yet, that’s already a work in progress rather than an afterthought to mimicking the genre’s big players wholesale. Pop-punk mightn’t be in as rude health as recent times, but round up a few new generation players in the same ballpark as 7 Minutes In Heaven, and that fallow period won’t last for very long.
7/10
For fans of: As It Is, With Confidence, Real Friends
Words by Luke Nuttall
‘Symmetry’ by 7 Minutes In Heaven is released on 15th September on Rude Records.
