The general rule is that any album has to have a theme.  Even if that theme is something as simple as the genre of music the songs fit into, most of the songs should have more in common with each other than not. This is not the case for Adam Green’s Sixes & Sevens. Green jumps between gospel soul to spoken word poetry to breezy pop as if it’s obvious that these styles belong with each other. And somehow, he makes them work.

Adam Green is best known as half of the Moldy Peaches, noted for their sincere acoustics. There are moments such as in “Drowning Head First” where he exhibits the same knack for honest, simple songs, but for the most part this album is anything but calm. He opens with a resounding cry from a gospel chorus in “Festival Song,” layering his deep, resonant voice over the harmonies as if he were the leader of the chorus. It’s an odd pairing, but he makes these sounds compliment each other. He has an uncanny ability to take elements of familiarity from distinct places, and combine them to create something most haven’t heard before. In “Leaky Flask,” he takes the lyrics of a traditional song about being ignored by women, and sets them next to the chants of a work song.

There are a few places where he can’t master all of the styles he’s chosen to explore. “Tropical Island,” for example, has an overall ease, but it’s no “Kokomo.” For most of the album he shows how he understands the essence of every style, taking from the great and making it his own. And while his album may not be what anyone has expected, maybe it’s better that way. The element of surprise is what keeps people listening.