Jeremy Aaron
04/14/09, 12:24 PM
The Thermals - Now We Can See
Record Label: Kill Rock Stars
Release Date: April 7, 2009
Who?
Portland, Oregon's evolving indie-rockers The Thermals return with their fourth album and first with Kill Rock Stars, ending their career-long run with Sub Pop.
How Is It?
This is the type of power-pop that more bands would aspire to make, if I had anything to say about it. Now We Can See marks a further move for The Thermals away from the very lo-fi, irreverent garage punk of their debut, More Parts per Million, into more polished, but equally irreverent, territory. For those not familiar, it would probably be misleading to classify their music as pop-punk, but I'll do it anyway, because the description is apt, as long as you think more Ted Leo than All Time Low, in terms of both sound and penchant for sociopolitical commentary. At times on this new album, The Thermals sound almost as glossed up and infectious as early Weezer, an effective cover for their poignant and often sharp-tongued observations.
Throughout The Thermals' maturation, the one constant has been the uncalculated and delightfully eccentric vocals of Hutch Harris. He tends toward the monotone at times (though there is much more melodic variation on this album than in the past), which can leave the tunes coming off as a little flat, but whatever they lack in melody, they more than make up for in sheer electricity. If anything, the unrefined nature of Harris' vocals provides the vigorous spark that drives these songs and only adds to their irresistibility.
Throughout their history, The Thermals have had difficulty holding onto a drummer and, like their third album The Body, the Blood, the Machine, Now We Can See was recorded with bassist Kathy Foster performing behind the kit as well (with new drummer Westin Glass, ex-Say Hi, joining after recording was finished), once again performing admirably. With Harris contributing the guitar work, the duo create a simple, straight-forward sound that trades in technicality for raw energy. When the music is this magnetic, virtuosic displays would hinder the band's fiery punk aesthetic, and they smartly stick to basics.
To match the brighter, shinier feel of this music, The Thermals lyrical approach is a little lighter this time around as well. The last time out, the band created a concept record that embodied a thinly veiled criticism of Christian Conservatism through their dystopic visions of a theocratic America. Most of Now We Can See is based around the idea of looking back at one's life from the grave, and The Thermals frequently sound like they're having a lot of fun doing it, especially on the hindsight's 20/20 title track, which is about as catchy a song as you'll find, though they occasionally get contemplative, as on "At the Bottom of the Sea," an uncharacteristically slow song that's also a rare indulgence for the band, clocking in at nearly six minutes. With the recent change in the nation's political landscape, it seems that The Thermals have more optimism on that front and less to protest, which kind of has me wondering what the next Against Me! album might be about.
In the end, Now We Can See is a resounding success, marking an impressive reinvention for The Thermals that results in one of the most undeniably fun albums I've heard recently. Leave it to this band to record an album about being dead and have it come off sounding downright celebratory, an ironic, yet utterly fitting undertaking, given the band's predilection toward cynicism. Sure to please fans of the band as well as anyone with an affinity for propulsive pop, Now We Can See is the work of a band that has released some remarkable work in the past, and that is, evidently, still getting better.
Ted Leo and the Pharmacists' The Tyranny of Distance
Stiff Little Fingers' Inflammable Material
Superdrag's Regretfully Yours
Piebald's Accidental Gentlemen
Against Me!'s New Wave
Check out The Thermals on Myspace (http://www.myspace.com/thethermals).
Record Label: Kill Rock Stars
Release Date: April 7, 2009
Who?
Portland, Oregon's evolving indie-rockers The Thermals return with their fourth album and first with Kill Rock Stars, ending their career-long run with Sub Pop.
How Is It?
This is the type of power-pop that more bands would aspire to make, if I had anything to say about it. Now We Can See marks a further move for The Thermals away from the very lo-fi, irreverent garage punk of their debut, More Parts per Million, into more polished, but equally irreverent, territory. For those not familiar, it would probably be misleading to classify their music as pop-punk, but I'll do it anyway, because the description is apt, as long as you think more Ted Leo than All Time Low, in terms of both sound and penchant for sociopolitical commentary. At times on this new album, The Thermals sound almost as glossed up and infectious as early Weezer, an effective cover for their poignant and often sharp-tongued observations.
Throughout The Thermals' maturation, the one constant has been the uncalculated and delightfully eccentric vocals of Hutch Harris. He tends toward the monotone at times (though there is much more melodic variation on this album than in the past), which can leave the tunes coming off as a little flat, but whatever they lack in melody, they more than make up for in sheer electricity. If anything, the unrefined nature of Harris' vocals provides the vigorous spark that drives these songs and only adds to their irresistibility.
Throughout their history, The Thermals have had difficulty holding onto a drummer and, like their third album The Body, the Blood, the Machine, Now We Can See was recorded with bassist Kathy Foster performing behind the kit as well (with new drummer Westin Glass, ex-Say Hi, joining after recording was finished), once again performing admirably. With Harris contributing the guitar work, the duo create a simple, straight-forward sound that trades in technicality for raw energy. When the music is this magnetic, virtuosic displays would hinder the band's fiery punk aesthetic, and they smartly stick to basics.
To match the brighter, shinier feel of this music, The Thermals lyrical approach is a little lighter this time around as well. The last time out, the band created a concept record that embodied a thinly veiled criticism of Christian Conservatism through their dystopic visions of a theocratic America. Most of Now We Can See is based around the idea of looking back at one's life from the grave, and The Thermals frequently sound like they're having a lot of fun doing it, especially on the hindsight's 20/20 title track, which is about as catchy a song as you'll find, though they occasionally get contemplative, as on "At the Bottom of the Sea," an uncharacteristically slow song that's also a rare indulgence for the band, clocking in at nearly six minutes. With the recent change in the nation's political landscape, it seems that The Thermals have more optimism on that front and less to protest, which kind of has me wondering what the next Against Me! album might be about.
In the end, Now We Can See is a resounding success, marking an impressive reinvention for The Thermals that results in one of the most undeniably fun albums I've heard recently. Leave it to this band to record an album about being dead and have it come off sounding downright celebratory, an ironic, yet utterly fitting undertaking, given the band's predilection toward cynicism. Sure to please fans of the band as well as anyone with an affinity for propulsive pop, Now We Can See is the work of a band that has released some remarkable work in the past, and that is, evidently, still getting better.
Ted Leo and the Pharmacists' The Tyranny of Distance
Stiff Little Fingers' Inflammable Material
Superdrag's Regretfully Yours
Piebald's Accidental Gentlemen
Against Me!'s New Wave
Check out The Thermals on Myspace (http://www.myspace.com/thethermals).