Seven Circles by The Tea Party

Seven Circles, the Tea Party's seventh album, arrived on EMI in 2004 with Bob Rock producing, and it turned out to be the last word from Jeff Martin, Stuart Chatwood and Jeff Burrows before creative differences split them in 2005. It keeps the formula of Triptych and The Interzone Mantras, world music colors folded into rock muscle and electronic studio tricks, but the mood has lifted: the dystopian gloom gives way to a brighter record, with ballads that edge right up to love songs. Fans argued about the change.

It's dedicated to their manager Steve Hoffman, who died of lung cancer in October 2003, and "Oceans" was written for him. "Empty Glass" picks up the story of Bowie's Major Tom, and "Wishing You Would Stay" pairs Martin's baritone with Holly McNarland, his first duet on record. It debuted at number 5 in Canada, went gold there that November and earned a Juno nomination for Rock Album of the Year.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.