No matter how many singles have been released, or how many EPs the public is devouring, the release of a band’s first full-length album deserves fanfare. With more than one million streams of just their top 10 songs on Spotify alone, and over 18,000 (and counting) monthly listeners, dead7’s LOVE WHAT YOU CAN WHILE YOU GOT SOMETHING LEFT TO LOVE has been met with electrified anticipation.
Until today.
“We keep people guessing,” says vocalist Jason Kozik. “The new material is heavy, but we emphasized the hooks. We tried to make sure our songs resonate. In terms of the content, we focused on love, relationships, and things that are often tough to say. A lot of our previous music was about death, what it means, and what happens afterwards. This record discusses the death of a relationship and what it does to a person.”
And he is spot on with that description. The difference between older releases like “womb” and the songs off of LOVE WHAT YOU CAN is staggering.
The focus on those melodies is made clear right from the start of “BLUR”. Kozik’s vocals are haunting in nature, something alluring and almost disarming in a way just until the bridge when we’re allowed a peak at those classic screams— our only introduction and preparing for the very sudden kick in the teeth of heavily distorted guitars.
The best part is that that’s just the opening track. With a promise like that, listeners can rest assured that the remainder of the record promises us more songs like “BLUR”— as well as the other two released singles “HOLE”, and “PLEASE”.
Should older fans have any fear of losing their favorite abrasive vocals, they can rest assured that Kozik is still coming to us with those gut-wrenching screams and bellows, shown to us in tracks like “FLOATING”.
No, the band hasn’t strayed entirely from their “roots,” so to speak. These boys are still here to remind you of exactly who they are, and have always been; they’re simply opening themselves up with their debut album. Letting us into a different side of them while still bringing to the table what fans know and love.
Guitarists Dexter Greer and Tim Quinn still floor us with chugging through-lines and screeching leads, while bassist Stephen Salyer and drummer Zach Guinn keep us steady and locked in with a solid iron-clad rhythm section that will neither budge nor bow to any man.
Newer fans, however, who may lean more toward a slightly brighter sound have already likely been delighted by “HOLE,” and “PLEASE”. If that’s more your style, we recommend putting either “NUCLEAR” or “TEETH” on repeat to practice both your dance moves and your deepest headbang (full body bending is required, by the way).
At the end of the record, to tie it all together, we have “DOPESICK”, a stripped-back and vulnerable sound that talks about some of the… less desirable sides of love. Things that feel inescapable, but addicting nonetheless. As Jason describes it, the song depicts the sentiment “You’re tied to a destructive relationship, and it’s similar to a drug. You hate it, but there’s no way out. So, you keep taking it anyway.”
Altogether, the band is setting a solid idea of who and what they are with this new album, this debut album. LOVE WHAT YOU CAN WHILE YOU GOT SOMETHING LEFT TO LOVE is an exploration of love in all of its most beautiful and devastating facets.
Tying things together, Jason tells us “When you listen to anything we do, I hope you connect to what we’re saying. I hope it reaches you, whether it’s through the instrumentation, lyrics, or vibes. We want you to know you’re being heard.”
I think dead7 is doing an amazing job of that and, if this is just the beginning for them, there’s no telling what the future holds.
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