Steve 'Flash' JuonLast time I looked at 7xvn’s work on “7 Ways to Die” I managed to find the positive in an experience most people wouldn’t purposefully seek out. “There’s an audience for the abrasive side of things. It certainly sounds like music you could play in an art gallery filled with paintings made using the painter’s own bile and blood that he then vomited on profusely. It’s an evocative experience. Not necessarily a pleasant one most of the time, but it’s definitely art that fulfills the purpose of eliciting an emotional response.” In other words 7xvn had a place as an art house rapper, not one you listen to for the joy of doing so, but for the negative reaction you would feel in response to his music.
“Smile Kid Smile” continues that fine (sic) tradition by being purposefully abrasive. “HaHaHa!” is immediately overwhelmed by an intense reverberating bottom that drowns out 7xvn’s whispered vocals. 70 seconds in he stops whispering and starts screaming louder and louder. If you were living next door to him while he recorded this you’d probably call the police to report domestic abuse. The next track “Show Em What You Got Kid” was almost my favorite thing 7xvn has ever done. It started out with a really promising riff that could have worked as a nu metal rap track, but unfortunately the bass completely wipes out the guitar and 7xvn’s vocals are even more blown out than the previous track.
A disconcertingly quiet and pleasant “Somewhere (Interlude)” that sounds like someone playing the blues on a broken amplifier is your only moment of relief in the madness. You’ll come right back to “Oh Lucy” and you wouldn’t be blamed for thinking it was a Slipknot song, only the boys from Des Moines have more pride than to release anything this sloppy. This is entry level Slipknot. This is the band that opens for Slipknot when they need a local act for filler. The problem is it isn’t even a band. It’s just 7xvn doing whatever the hell you’d call this song.
I feel like I’ve been bending over backward to give 7xvn a fair chance, and that’s because every once in a while I see a glimmer that he actually knows what sounds good — he’s just purposefully choosing to go the opposite direction to fulfill his inner vision. Take “I’ve Lost My Fear of Falling” for example. You couldn’t call it the best cloud rap emo song you’ve ever heard, but it would fit comfortably into a full playlist of those tracks without making you hit skip to hear the next one. He’d be a fairly average emo rapper not even worth this much ink so it’s probably better he’s making harsh music most of the time.
On the whole I enjoyed “Smile Kid Smile” slightly more than my last 7xvn adventure — and that’s like saying my last trip to the dentist was less painful than the one before. Any improvement is an improvement so I’ll take it, but you’re still not likely to seek out that feeling of having metal hooks poking around in your gums. Metaphorically, that’s 7xvn musically. I respect his determination to go against the grain and be as painful as possible so he can have a big toothy grin at the whole world.