7 is our 7th full-length record. At its release, we will have
been a band for over 13 years. We have now written and released a
total of 77 songs together. Throughout the process of
7, our goal was rebirth and rejuvenation. We wanted to rethink
old methods and shed some self-imposed limitations. In the past,
we often limited our writing to parts that we could perform live.
On 7, we decided to follow whatever came naturally. As a result,
there are some songs with no guitar, and some without keyboard.
There are songs with layers and production that we could never
recreate live, and that is exciting to us. Basically, we let our
creative moods, instead of instrumentation, dictate the album’s
feel. For 7, we built a "home" studio, and began all of the songs
there. Whenever we had a group of 3-4 songs that we were excited
about, we would go to a “proper” studio and finish
them there, in the process shortening the a of
time between the original idea and the finished song (of the
album’s 11 songs, 8 were finished at Carriage House in Stamford,
CT and 2 at Palmetto Studio in Los Angeles). 7 didn’t have a
producer in the traditional sense. James Barone, who became our
live drummer in 2016, played on the entire record. We also worked
with Sonic Boom (Peter Kember), who became a great force on this
record by shedding conventions and helping to keep the songs
alive, fresh and protected from the destructive forces of
-studio over-production/over-perfection. The societal
insanity of 2016-17 was also deeply influential, as it must be
for most artists these days. Looking back, there is quite a bit
of chaos in these songs, and a pervasive dark field that we had
little control over. The discussions surrounding women’s issues
were a constant source of inspiration and questioning. The
energy, lyrics and moods of much of this record grew from
ruminations on the roles, pressures and conditions that our
society places on women, past and present. The twisted double
edge of glamour, with its perils and perfect moments, was an
endless source. In a more general sense, we are interested by the
human mind's (and nature’s) tendency to create forces equal and
site to those present. Thematically, this record often deals
with the beauty that arises in dealing with darkness; the empathy
and love that grows from collective trauma; the place one reaches
when they accept rather than deny. While the title is simply a
number that represents our seventh record, the number 7 does
represent some interesting connections in numerology. 1 and 7
have always shared a common look, so 7 feels like the perfect
step in the sequence to act as a restart or “semi-first.” Most
early religions also had a fascination with 7 as being the
highest level of spirituality, as in "Seventh Heaven.” At our
best creative moments, we felt we were channeling some kind of
heavy truth, and we sincerely hope the listeners will feel that.
Much Love, Beach House