Seven Circles by The Tea Party

Seven Circles (2004) is The Tea Party's seventh album, and the last prior to the band breaking up in 2005. The album continues the style of the band's two previous offerings (The Interzone Mantras in 2001 and Triptych in 1999) by combining world music influences with rock instrumentation and electronic studio techniques. The album is also one of the band's most positive sounding records, forsaking the dystopian imagery and moody lyrics of past albums, and including several ballads that border on love-song territory. This change in focus has led to both praise and criticism from fans.The album is dedicated to the memory of Steve Hoffman, the late manager of The Tea Party, who died of lung cancer in October 2003. Track 4, "Oceans" was written in his honour, with a promotional single released in May 2005 The Tea Party hoped to bring more attention to the Steven Hoffman Fund.The album is also notable for containing the song "Empty Glass", which continues the saga of Major Tom from the work of David Bowie, Peter Schilling, and others. Seven Circles marks the first time that Jeff Martin has duetted with another artist; "Wishing you would Stay" features fellow Canadian vocalist Holly McNarland, as a counterpoint to Martin's baritone. The album debuted at number 5 on the Canadian Album Chart, selling 7,600 copies in its first week. On November 4, 2004, the album was certified gold in Canada. Seven Circles also received a nomination for "Rock Album of the Year" at the 2005 Juno Awards.