Are You Driving Me Crazy??

Here's an album that you probably haven't heard of. Seam's Are You Driving Me Crazy? is a gem from the 90s. Here's the artwork.

Pretty blue, i'nnit? For me, album art tends to set the tone for the music, but maybe it's the other way around. Looking at Seam's other album artwork, I can see that they're all basically monochromatic. 4 albums, each with their own color. I believe it had to be a conscious decision on Seam's part to assign the artwork to what they felt represented the music, and I've got to say: in this case, blue was a great choice.

"Two Is Enough" This song was my first taste of Seam. I was listening to it 'blind'. It popped up on turntable.fm, which is a website where 5 people share music by listening to the same playlist made by themselves. Each person is a DJ in their own right, just sharing great music. My ears were hooked on first listen, and I loved that I instantly recognized the era. 90s sounding guitar tone, 90s typical hushed vocals. It was great! The song creates a wonderful tone which brings a sense of nostalgia and joy. It sounds like the band channeled their feelings and now as a listener I'm ingesting their creative output. How interesting that these feelings are universal and purely human, yet the sounds themselves are trapped in time. This 1995 record is marked in its time by the guitar drive, drum progression, and vocal style. Still, the band found a rather unique sound that really resonates with me.

 And this would be the 'hit' off the album. It easily slides into any rock playlist and damn my ears if it doesn't give off that distant feeling of longing again. Actually, the singer makes it clear in the lyrics that he is in fact expressing the feeling of longing and love.

I made it clear to you
My sleep is restless
My heart is divided
Quarters, halves, & eighths
I’m in love with this feeling
This invisible feeling.

What I wanted to say
Would have sounded all wrong
In that crazy pitch of my
Pidgin stammering knotted tongue

He gets over these feelings by the end of the song, however. He belts out a satisfied, "I'm used to it," alongside his triumphant sounding band. The resolve found through the song is a testament to Seam's songwriting prowess. The fact that I found this band through someone completely unknown to me makes the record a gift. One that I can truly be grateful for on a day as fitting as this. My birthday.

Thank you.