 I hate the word “cute”. Hate it. No respectable man will ever be caught dead saying that in public. But you know what? The band 1997 is downright cute.
One part emo, another part pop, and another part rock, this band out of Chicago has blended a unique sound. 1997 mixes a diverse group of instruments (piano, harmonica, xylophone, etc.) with dual lead singers, Kevin Thomas and Kerri Mack (on the album A Better View of the Rising Moon) or Adila Marroni (on the album On the Run). The band, like most bands, has had some spats. Kerri Mack was the original girl voice on 1997’s debut album A Better View of the Rising Moon. The girlfriend of the bass player Alan Goffinski, Adila Marroni, for the album On The Run, succeeded Mack. Since then, both bass player Goffinski and vocalist Marroni have left the band. Follow me still? Anyway, the beautiful voices of Thomas and Mack/Marroni serenade your ears with lyrics about girls, boys, breaking up, and alcohol. I feel like I listen to their songs “Water’s Edge” and “Garden of Evil” just so I can learn the lyrics and sing a long to them later on. The contrasting voices of Thomas and Mack/Marroni intertwine like DNA. They are, for lack of a better word, beautiful together. 1997’s music appears simple, and it is. Simple lyrics and simple instrumentals, but they combine all aspects of their music so well that is doesn’t matter. 1997 is the band that Paramore wants to be. 1997 is superior to Paramore in everyway too (Paramore sucks, by the way.) One flaw, that shouldn’t be held against 1997, is that they aren’t the greatest live band. I happened to catch one of their shows at the St. Louis Vans Warped Tour this past summer and they were rather disappointing. Nevertheless, their studio work is outstanding. 1997 is the voice of a scene. A scene that is dysfunctional. A scene that is that knows sorrow. A scene that is listening to the band you should be listening to.
1997’s Myspace: 1997
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