Jordan Seven “Everybody Bleeds” (SINGLE)

With Jordan Seven, it’s always personal. “I’ve been through some rough times, as many have, but I have always tried my best to be true to myself and to persevere. I was a cover band musician for many years, while maintaining a career unrelated to music, because I loved to play live, but writing and performing my own music was always on my mind,” he tells Medium. “I wanted to write thoughtful and heartfelt songs that resonated with people, while being fun and enjoyable to listen to. But until fairly recently, I didn’t feel that I had found my authentic, musical voice. Then the pandemic happened, and the world changed ever so suddenly. And in the quietude of the resulting chaos, I would take long evening walks with my late dog, Honor. During those walks along the deserted streets, I listened to my collection of assorted riffs and song ideas I had recorded.”

 URL: https://jordansevenband.com/

 It’s this kind of homegrown quality that’s most on display with his new single, Everybody Bleeds, tied to the release of his upcoming album Mercury. The soft rock track has this stripped down, Springsteen-esque quality, where it feels as much like a good song as it is a sort of confessional manifesto. Seven effortlessly mixes a genuine craft and perfectionist attention to detail with deliberate off-key notes, acoustic guitars, old-fashioned drum sets, and a sense of 2000s nostalgia. Seven isn’t interested in writing big, operatic narratives for song, but his work does feel wide and all-encompassing in terms of visceral scope. The word ‘mini-epic’ could be applicable, also noting his unique ability to brainstorm and create music with a fiery, defined moral fiber.

 “Tone is the voice you speak with, either through the mood of your song or through the sound of the instrument you are playing,” Seven explains in the interview. “It’s what you use to express the emotion and message of the song and make it impactful. I am a singer first, and I try to approach my playing in a way that enhances and supports the vocal parts. My tone is always evolving because every song I write is different. And since I try not to be too constrained stylistically, I adjust and create new tones based on what I am trying to express. For example, with respect to my guitar sound, the lead on ‘Solid Ground’ is obviously a lead with an aggressive, overdriven tone to help convey the inner struggle and rage conveyed by the song and the aggressive nature of the vocals.”

This is reflected in Everybody Bleeds, but with a softer, more sentimental line. It almost calls to mind the kind of existential yearning in the Graham Lee Phillips track Find My Way, but with a more modern edge. There’s this kind of contemporary nature to the masculine but stripped down, vulnerable quality Seven is able to bring to the lyrics. While in lesser hands it could come across as a bit maudlin, if not out-and-out sanguine and overly sentimental, with Seven it just feels honest. Straightforward. Like genuine ruminations handled with integrity and care, then expertly layered into a defined, evocative musical track. Bring on the full album!

 Mark Druery