If you get the women of Seven Day Diary confused with one another, you're just not paying proper attention.

True, Nancy Hess and Pamela Laws do tend to finish each other's sentences. And yes, they have been making music together for an aggregate 36.5 percent of their collective lives (for sticklers, that's seven years out of a possible 25 and 27, respectively).

But their new album, "Skin and Blister" (Warner Bros.), gives both Hess and Laws plenty of room to establish separate identities while melding their best attributes into a seamless whole. It's an effort that may well put the San Francisco group on the musical map -- alongside like-minded smart, female-scented bands like the Breeders and Throwing Muses, whose sound they faintly echo.

Rounded out by former Sextant drummer Matt Boudreau and guitarist Ken Weller (Voice Farm), Seven Day Diary stands poised at the next level: They've got a new record on a major label, there's a new video in the can and an upcoming date at a prestigious London rock festival -- sounds like the glamorous stuff rock 'n' roll dreams are made of, right?

Well ... sort of.

"As soon as we reach a goal, we look at the next thing we want to be," says Laws, sitting in her sunny Lower Haight kitchen, surrounded by original art and dusty motes of light.

"I feel like we're still at the beginning. I don't feel the glamour so much. It's kind of a bittersweet thing: In order to be successful in this industry you have to be really focused, and give up things like family and relationships." While the words themselves are faintly yearning, there's an implacable note in her voice.

Hess -- who comes across as the more deliberate of the pair -- breaks in: "Still, I feel really happy to be at the state where we're at. I'm grateful that the company let us make the kind of record we wanted to make." She brushes a lock of brown hair to one side impatiently and continues. "To be able to listen to it without cringing -- ever -- is such a nice thing."

The major label bucks allowed the band to record the album over a period of 10 weeks in London last year, a previously unheard of luxury for the group. "The way that having a bigger budget for this record helps, is that it gives you time and the resources to allow the songs to become most honestly what they are," says Hess.

"Right," Laws nods. "It gives you time to search inside yourself for exactly what you meant when you wrote that part -- when it was first an idea."

The carefully crafted songs on "Skin and Blister" -- produced by Gil Norton (Pixies, Echo and the Bunnymen) -- have a lush, clean sound that's predominated by the pair's dazzling harmonies. The two, who interact with an intuitive sureness, write all of the words and music for the group.

"The band's definitely driven by Nancy and I and our relationship and who we are as people," says Laws. "One of our major quests over the last year has been to establish an identity separate from each other, while at the same time coming out with a vision that's really singular and focused."

While the two women do take control of much of the group's direction, they still consider Seven Day Diary an ensemble effort. Laws continues, "When we met Matt and Ken, they were so compatible with us -- emotionally and psychologically and musically -- that they fit into who we are without robbing them of their identities. They're really kind of a part of who we are."

The blonde Laws has a gentle speaking voice, but her whole demeanor changes when she sings -- surprisingly, the lustier tones on the album belong to her. Hess laughs, "The first time I heard Pamela sing, I couldn't believe it. She has this really delicate soft, beautiful speaking voice -- and when she opens her mouth to sing she could knock down a house."

That confidence, bolstered by evocative wordplay, is evident in the urgent chorus of "Starfish" -- the album's first single -- which cautions catchily, "we as blind people must be on our best behavior." Other standout tracks include the elliptical "World Becomes You" with the ardent plea, "wanting you to love you the way I love you," and the infectious "Walkaway," which includes a 12-piece string section in the mix.

"Recording that was so amazing," marvels Hess. "When you make a decision to put a 12-part string section on a song, you're clearly making a reference. It was fun; I leaned over and whispered to Pam, 'It's like the Beatles!'"

They break into laughter, giddy with the memory. "Of course, that was heightened by being in London," Laws says. "We were in the control room sitting on this couch looking out the glass where the performers were playing our little song. It was like seeing the song grow up." The whole album, in fact, feels grown up, the product of adults working and growing in their craft. While last year's EP, "Fig. 6," was a solid -- if unremarkable -- effort, "Skin and Blister" is more mature and thoughtful.

"If the album has a theme," says Hess, "I'd say it was struggle. And compassion."

"Acknowledging the difficulty without drowning in it," interjects Laws. "Acknowledging the exaltation side of life as well as the struggle."

"And resiliency," breaks in Hess. "The resiliency of human beings."

That flexibility comes in handy, given the intense level of interaction between the songwriters. There's a sense of authenticity behind "Skin and Blister"'s deliberately chosen words, as if they come from untold hours of reflection and clarification."We talk an awful lot about what the words mean, because we write all of our lyrics together," says Hess. "But even though there's often a really direct intent behind things, Pamela and I live different lives and have different experiences behind our songs. So there's some songs that I have a totally different interpretation of -- sometimes we can be singing about really different things."

Still, the pair are about as symbiotic as two people can be: witness the album's title. "Naming the new album was something we were thinking about the whole time we were in London," recalls Hess. "One day our engineer got a call from his sister on his birthday. He put down the phone and said 'That was my sister, my skin and blister.' Pamela and I just looked at each other and screamed, 'That's it!'"

Laws nods agreement. "It was definitely one of those a-ha moments."

Now that the album is in the stores, Seven Day Diary won't be lounging around on some proverbial beach -- not while there are still songs to be written and goals to be met.

Hess is matter of fact about the hard work before them. "Sure, it's really challenging to constantly having your standards raised -- there's always something ahead; there's always the next thing. OK, we've got a record deal, now we have a record, now we can relax. But there is no relaxing, there is no basking in the glamour. It doesn't exist."

Then a smile so unexpected that it's like opening a long-closed window. "The joy comes from being able to do what I love doing more than anything in the world."

This article originally appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle Datebook.

Julene Snyder is a San Francisco-based freelance writer. E-mail can be sent to julene@well.com


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