Artist: eleventyseven
Album: Adventures In Eville
Year: 2009
Label: eleventyseven
Website: http://www.eleventysevenrock.com/
Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/eleventyseven
Twitter: @eleventyrock
Buy: iTunes - Amazon - Official Store
Sounds Like: Hawk Nelson, Stellar Kart, Run Kid Run, Relient K, Blink 182, Weezer, Family Force 5, 3OH!3, Capital Lights, Becoming Yesterday, Please Promise, Attaboy, The Great Transparency
Rating: 4/5 ♥♥♥♥

After eleventyseven defined their electro-pop-rock sound with “Galactic Conquest”, leaving out Flicker Records, and being totally independent, they present their latest experiment. “Adventures In Eville” fuses electronic features such as Joy Electric with pop/punk bands like Relient K and Stellar Kart. Matt Langston (lead vocals, guitar), Caleb Satterfield (bass, vocals) and Jonathan Stephens (bacteria, vocals) found redemption from his earlier reputation, showing a passionate return to the stage.

We started with the burning “Nightmare” with a brief intro that reminds me a mix between Owl City and Hawk Nelson with a solid punk rock, catchy electronic riffs and a fun tune that refers to the redemption of God in our lives, giving us an element (salvation) has given us security and faith: “No, I can’t stop believing that wishes do come true / ‘Cause life is what you make it, and I wanna make it with you / ‘Cause the second I saw you I pinched myself to see if you were really there / ‘Cause meeting you is like waking up from a nightmare”. The synthesizers are highlighted in “The Best I Can” that sings the barriers of love, with lines showing a boy on a desperate quest to heal the pain in his heart: “Cause we both feel the pain / We just say it different ways / Hear my heart before you hear my lips / ‘Cause I can’t win this game / If I don’t know how to play / Don’t give up just try and understand / I’m doing the best I can”. The first single from the album comes with “Evil Genius”, the love song of a nerd. Inspired by a Matt’s close friend who was in love with a girl and did not know how to tell her: “Kelly doesn´t know that I’m an evil genius / With a sidekick dog named Grover Cleveland / And she´ll never know that we can take over the world / With cyborg robot squirrels”. The sound of a fairy tale comes with “Trying”, which somehow represents the daily life of the band. With an infectious techno/punk/rock, Matt shares with us: “We want listeners to know that they can be part of something so much greater than just a fan base. We want our music to be a direct vehicle for friendships to form, for stories and experiences to be shared, and for fun to be had”. With sarcasm that calls you to reflect, “Redeem The Scene” begins with hip-hop voices, but quickly turns into an aggressive pop/punk/rock that talks about the falsity of the rock artists in today: “Stages are for bands and catwalks are for models / How’d we ever get these two confused / Put your girlfriend’s pants right back where you got them / I hate to be the one to break the news / But rock and roll was never meant for you”. Continuing the fun, “Prom Song” refers to a disastrous prom party. Many influences from Family Force 5 and 3OH!3. The romantic “Lonely Word” enchants us with its chorus: “Forever is a lonely word in a sentence without me and you / If you look it up you’ll see in my dictionary that underneath forever there’s a picture of you and me”. The magical and nostalgic “Back When We Were Kids” makes us remember things we did when we were children: “If we had problems band-aids fixed it / Mom was always there to listen and every night we’d say our prayers to someone watching us up there / Life was so much simpler way back then, back when we were kids”. The challenging “Rock You Like” is a hymn which encourages us to be ourselves, and not as the world tells us to be: “We’re not going to rock the way you do”. A sweet piano opens “End Of Time”, then give way to strings and a techno/pop feeling with influences from Capital Lights. I like the lyric ambiguity of this song, it can be dedicated to God, to angels or to a loved one: “I will never let this harm you / I can be what you hold to / Let me be the one to love you ‘till the end of time / Know that when the darkness shakes you / I will never this this break you / Let me be the wings that take you to the end of time.

“Adventures In Eville” is more than 10 tracks of upbeat, contagious and delusional electro/punk/pop, but also is a open letter that tell our lives in a positive and sincere way. Recharged, reinvented, renewed. Is it how eleventyseven manifests itself in his return, with fun but inspiring songs.

Luego que eleventyseven defina su sonido electro-pop-rock con “Galactic Conquest”, dejando de lado a Flicker Records y siendo totalmente independientes, nos presentan su más reciente experimento. “Adventures In Eville” fusiona rasgos electrónicos como los de Joy Electric con bandas pop/punk como Relient K y Stellar Kart. Matt Langston (vocalista, guitarra), Caleb Satterfield (bajo, voces) y Jonathan Stephens (batería, voces) encontraron la redención de su anterior reputación, mostrándonos un apasionado retorno al escenario.

Comenzamos con la ardiente “Nightmare” con un breve intro que me recuerda una mixtura entre Owl City y Hawk Nelson con su sólido punk rock, pegajosos riffs electrónicos y una melodía muy divertida que hace referencia al rescate de Dios con nuestras vidas, entregándonos un elemento (la salvación) que nos ha dado seguridad y fe: “No, I can’t stop believing that wishes do come true / ‘Cause life is what you make it, and I wanna make it with you / ‘Cause the second I saw you I pinched myself to see if you were really there / ‘Cause meeting you is like waking up from a nightmare”. Los sintetizadores se realzan en “The Best I Can” que nos cantan las barreras del amor, con líneas que demuestran a un desesperado muchacho en búsqueda de sanar el dolor en su corazón: “Cause we both feel the pain / We just say it different ways / Hear my heart before you hear my lips / ‘Cause I can’t win this game / If I don’t know how to play / Don’t give up just try and understand / I’m doing the best I can”. El primer sencillo del álbum llega con “Evil Genius”, la canción de amor de un nerd. Inspirada en un amigo cercano de Matt que estaba enamorada de una chica y no sabía cómo decírselo: “Kelly doesn´t know that I’m an evil genius / With a sidekick dog named Grover Cleveland / And she´ll never know that we can take over the world / With cyborg robot squirrels”. El sonido de cuento de hadas llega con “Trying”, que de alguna manera representa el diario vivir de la banda. Con un infeccioso techno punk rock, Matt nos comparte: “Queremos que nuestro oyentes sepan que pueden ser parte de algo mucho más grande que un club de fans. Queremos que nuestra música sea un vehículo para formar amistades para que historias y experiencias sean compartidas de una manera divertida”. Con un sarcasmo que te llama a reflexionar, “Redeem The Scene” inicia con voces de hip-hop, pero rápidamente se transforma en un agresivo pop/punk/rock que habla sobre la falsedad de los artistas de rock de hoy en día: “Stages are for bands and catwalks are for models / How’d we ever get these two confused / Put your girlfriend’s pants right back where you got them / I hate to be the one to break the news / But rock and roll was never meant for you”. Continuando con la diversión, “Prom Song” hace referencia a una desastrosa fiesta de promoción. Muchas influencias de Family Force 5 y 3OH!3. La romántica “Lonely Word” nos encanta con su coro: “Forever is a lonely word in a sentence without me and you / If you look it up you’ll see in my dictionary that underneath forever there’s a picture of you and me”. La mágica y nostálgica “Back When We Were Kids” nos hacer recordar las cosas que hacíamos cuando éramos niños: “If we had problems band-aids fixed it / Mom was always there to listen and every night we’d say our prayers to someone watching us up there / Life was so much simpler way back then, back when we were kids”. La desafiante “Like You Rock” es un himno que nos anima a ser nosotros mismos, y no como el mundo nos dice ser: “We’re not going to rock the way you do”. Un dulce piano apertura “End Of Time”, para luego dar paso a cuerdas y un sentimiento techno/pop con influencias de Capital Lights. Me gusta la ambigüedad lírica de esta canción, puede ser dedicada a Dios, de ángeles o de un ser amado: “I will never let this harm you / I can be what you hold to / Let me be the one to love you ‘till the end of time / Know that when the darkness shakes you / I will never this this break you / Let me be the wings that take you to the end of time”.

“Adventures In Eville” es más que 10 tracks de impulsador, contagioso delirante electro/punk/pop, sino también cartas abiertas que relatan nuestras vidas, de un modo positivo y sincero. Recargados, reinventados, renovados. Es así como eleventyseven se manifiesta en su regreso, con canciones divertidas pero inspiradoras a la vez.