Seventh Dream of Teenage Heaven (1985) by Love and Rockets
If There’s a Heaven Above, A Private Future, The Dog-End of a Day Gone By, Haunted When the Minutes Drag, Saudade
Seventh Dream of Teenage Heaven is a magnificent debut album from 3/4ths of the members of Bauhaus. Much dreamier and lighter sounding than the previous work of Daniel Ash, Kevin Haskins, and David J, Love and Rockets’ first album distinguishes its own sound distinct from the darker and harsher discography of Bauhaus, though noisy and abrasive elements aren’t necessarily avoided. Overall, aside from a prominent Christian motif throughout the entirety of the album, Seventh Dream of Teenage Heaven is impeccable in its triumphant sound and understanding of musical structure. A prime example of this is “A Private Future,” which opens with a dreamy acoustic guitar riff and then introduces a keyboard and bassline complementary to it before Ash’s soft vocals begin. What is not foreseen due to the dreamy tone of the song’s start is its eventual transition into a slightly darker sound, introduced by a dissonant synth and culminating cymbal before breaking into a nearly entirely new sound. The song concludes with a climax of a rushing bass line and drums, and the return of dreamy vocals.
The opening chords of “The Dog-End of a Day Gone By” registers as wistful to me; reminiscent of adolescence. After about three minutes of the deep beating of tom drums and the guitar’s continuous chord progression in the distant background of the song, overlayed with Ash and J’s vocals, a dreamy synth line dominates the sound of the song before a transition into a bridge of the song. Here the organ is introduced into the mix (continuing the Christian motif). To close the track, the same familiar drum beat continues on with the addition of crashing cymbals as the bass also begins a new upbeat line after the dreamy synth returns; which is complemented by guitar playing the same riff; all of this is beautifully accented with the organ’s strong chords.
“Haunted When the Minute Drags” begins quietly with a guitar riff of muted palm notes along with a subtle hi-hat as J’s soft vocals begin. It isn’t long before all elements break into silence, which is then interrupted by both J and Ash’s harsh vocals: “Haunted by your soul”. The vocals are then joined again by the other instruments, though with the addition of a refreshingly sharp snare.
Haunted by your hair/Haunted by your clothes/Haunted by your eyes/By your soul, by your hair/By your clothes, by your eyes/By your voice, by your smile/By your mouth, by your soul
The song then swiftly transitions into a more joyful section as the acoustic guitar becomes more prominent in its cheerful chords and the drums become more active. The percussion is particularly lovely when there is a sort of fill in some of the breaks between the vocals when an almost metallic sound is achieved, which pans from left to right.
And this is for the tears that won't dry/And this is for a bright blue sky/And this is for when you feel.../Lucky/And this is for when you feel.../Lucky
And my favorite lines from the entire album:
So this is for when you're feeling happy again/And this is for when you're feeling sad/And this is for when you feel.../Something
The track continues in this manner for the rest of the song while the bass line becomes more active and as the vocals begin to the lead the song to an end, leaving the guitar, drums, and bass as the last instruments playing before ending on a strong chord in unison with piano.
Ultimately, this album is exemplary rock. Seventh Dream of Teenage Heaven combines dreamy riffs, effects, synth lines, and vocals to create an album to experience as a whole entity; though it never shies away from some cacophonous elements like noisy guitar and strange percussions. It is incredible in its ability to provide a cohesive listening experience without abandoning diversity in sound; it achieves the perfect balance between different sounds and tones while remaining recognizable in its main instruments. I love this album a lot.
(number of times the word “dreamy” was used in this summary: 6)
