Seven Davis Jr – “Church” (Singles Going Steady)

Chris Ingalls: “Church” is a schizophrenic mashup of EDM with a healthy dose of funk, but it’s a rather unsteady, jittery funk, full of cowbells, distorted vocal samples and a beat that seems too rushed and wobbly to induce dancefloor mayhem. Davis takes his cues from P-Funk, turning the grooves on their ear while maintaining a unique vision. Weird and fun. [8/10]

Timothy Gabriele: Rather than endless layering, there’s a kind of verse-chorus-verse structure to this, which I think officially disqualifies this as house music under the unwritten tenets of charter 135 BPM. Ultimately though, “Church” is two different tracks, altering between slinky garage house and clunky feedback-laced, cowbell-driven dirge. The juxtaposition is intriguing, but ultimately baffling and the flow of the track is eventually harmed by the fact that the beat synchronization is just wonky enough to be off and yet close enough to a click track that its funk sounds a bit bunk. Either section would still work as a transition track, but this is never going to be the headliner. [5/10]

Steve Horowitz: Nice beats, but the sound swirls don’t seem to add much. This may evoke church to some, but the dance deserves more attention. Either funk out or freak out: neither choice compels here. [6/10]

Emmanuel Elone: Sadly, Seven Davis Jr is not nearly as entertaining as Sammy Davis Jr. “Church” is some by-the-numbers funk, with some added vocal effects and random noises thrown in for good measure. The track isn’t offensively bad, but it isn’t good either, making it merely forgettable by the end. [5/10]

Chad Miller: I loved the synth part of the track. The rhythmic section backing it up was amazing too. When it’s absent though, the track can seem like it’s without purpose and somewhat boring. Some more variety in the track would have been nice to combat this. [6/10]

Pryor Stroud: Charged with StairMaster synth splashes, all-over-the-place percussion, and a prevailing avant-pop attitude, “Church” seems to barrel out of some space-pirate radio station that broadcasts only forbidden future-funk records. Seven Davis Jr.’s beat is choppy, riddled with bytes of processed vocalizations and smothered verses; it sounds, in a word, dangerous — on fire or, perhaps, spewing it out. [6/10]

SCORE: 6.00