By: David Schultz

This April, the Seven-Eleven Project, an acoustic duo comprised of Licorice guitarist David Lott and 5th Of July singer Sabriena Stone, took up residency at New York City's Baggot Inn in Greenwich Village. With a nice mix of Beatles, Phish and originals, the Project allows Stone a calmer opportunity to sing the classic style that excellently suits her powerful voice. On 5th of July's debut album, No Surprise, she flexes her vocal muscle within the more traditional classic rock context.

Stone and rhythm guitarist Larry Post are the heart of 5th of July, forming the band after finding each other on the ever-popular music matchmaker Craigslist. 5th of July takes their unusual name from an anonymous line of prose that described that day as one where "the people felt alive and the music rang through their ears like the firecrackers of the day before." After compiling a diverse collection of songs ranging from pop to rock to country, Stone and Post added Elijah Steele (lead guitar), John Carey (bass) and Ron Thaler (drums). No Surprise presents a band with a lot of promise. Even though the production suffers from too much studio tinkering - Stone sometimes sounds like she's singing in a cavern - 5th of July work very comfortably together. Instead of trying to pack every musical trick in their arsenal into each song, they give each other space and in the process create some very enjoyable rootsy classic rock.

Primarily owing to Stone's soaring vocals, the title song, "No Surprise" has a sweeping Journey like scope. With a primarily keyboard accompaniment, Stone lets loose showing off her considerable range without slipping into the melisma miasma that currently seems to get mistaken for talent. The album isn't purely a showcase for Stone's voice; Post and Steele are capable of some exceptional classic rock riffs and on "Shadowbox" the band goes into a full on jam mode. The jaunty "Bound To Come," kicks off with a greasy southern rock guitar lick and the inclusion of a horn section lifts the song to lofty heights. Far from overpowering, the band can pull back, allowing for some nice solo work, especially the Hammond organ fills on "Life."

5th of July's classic rock leanings come through on "Until Then," which has a little Allman Brothers flair and "Hot Mama" with its Led Zeppelin cum Jeff Buckley intro. Taking a page from the Robbie Robertson book of songwriting "God Fearing Willie," tells the tale of a man ahead of his time with a southern rock kick. The opener, "200 Miles," highlighted by Ron Thaler's drums, starts the album off with a nice bit of arena rock. "New York By Sunday" starts in the same vein but softens into a power ballad, a style the band regrettably falls back to with regularity. "Tonight," a tender, radio-friendly song is indicative of the type of power ballad the band has mastered, nicely arranged, earnestly sung and missing the smarmy cheese factor present in the hair-metal variety of the genre. However, it also seems like the type of song they can do without expending much effort. When 5th of July takes on more challenging fare, they make for interesting and enjoyable listening.

Labels: 5th Of July