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2009 / 5 stars / reviews / thrice — No Comments
16
Sep 09

Beggars (2009) by Thrice

Beggars Thrice

Thrice
Beggars
2009, Vagrant
alt rock, post-hardcore
5

If I were to crown any modern band as Most Surprising With Every Album They Put Out, Thrice would be it. Listening to their earlier albums, one doesn’t expect anything remotely close to brilliance from them. Yeah, they’ve always had a great sound and yeah, their lyrics have always been rife with meaning (unlike most so-called ‘rock’ bands), but I’ve been so disappointed before that it’s hard for me to actually hope for something great anymore. Thrice did that with Vhiessu, then The Alchemy Index, and now with Beggars.

Lyrically, this is the strongest that Thrice has ever been, and that’s really saying a lot considering how lyrically evolved Alchemy Index was. I really urge you to Google the lyrics for the album and just read through them before you listen to the music. It will give you a whole new perspective on the band and on the album. Vocally, lead singer Dustin Kensrue pushes his limits, which is a FIRST – listen to “Wood & Wire” and “At The Last.” As a band, their music is continually evolving, turning more melodic with each record than remaining in the same post-hardcore rut. This is a revelation and a whet to the aural appetite, all at once. I want these guys to be making records for the rest of eternity if we expect pleasant surprises like this one.

“At The Last,” “Doublespeak,” “Wood & Wire.”
myspace, last.fm
Brand New’s The Devil and God…, The Receiving End of Sirens’s The Earth Sings Mi Fa Mi

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anberlin / augustana / city and colour / copeland / jack's mannequin / the dodos / the new frontiers / thrice / tiger lou / year 2008 / yoav — No Comments
6
Jan 09

Top 10 of 2008: New Releases

Making a Top 10 list is practically a requirement when you have a music review blog, but it can also be a nuisance since people usually judge you based on your list. Regardless, if you’ve been reading this blog for a while, chances are very high that you know exactly what albums I’m going to include. If not, here’s a hint: go to the sidebar and check out all the 2008 releases that I gave 4.5 stars or 5 stars.

So here’s the best of what I managed to review:

  1. The New Frontiers – Mending
    indie, acoustic (read review)
    Purchase: Amazon, website

    I simply can’t say enough about this album. It’s not very inventive lyrically or musically, but it’s been compelling enough that I returned to this album time and time again. It doesn’t matter what mood I’m in or what song I just listened to – the minute something from Mending came up on my shuffle, I was swept away. The fact that The New Frontiers have broken up so soon after its release makes Mending almost iconic.

  2. Copeland – You Are My Sunshine
    indie/alt pop (read review)
    Purchase: Amazon, website

    While I wasn’t so enthusiastic about this album when I first heard it, it’s certainly grown on me. Every time I hear something from it, I’m struck by a certain lyric or a nuance that I’d never heard before. While Copeland is certainly branching out into new directions, they do so very convincingly.

  3. City and Colour – Bring Me Your Love
    folk (read review)
    Purchase: Amazon, website

    I’m convinced that Dallas Green is physically incapable of writing a truly upbeat song, but this album was a strange mixture of the ironic and the depressing. I still haven’t wrapped my mind around it completely.

  4. Anberlin – New Surrender
    alternative rock (read review)
    Purchase: Amazon, website

    This album takes the prize of Surprise of the Year. I’m a self-proclaimed Anberlin fan, but even I didn’t expect the second half of this album. Interestingly enough, it works. I’d love to see where these guys go from this excellent start.

  5. Thrice – The Alchemy Index Vol. 3 & 4
    alt rock, acoustic, folk (read review)
    Purchase: Amazon, website

    This album is a revelation when one considers its source: a post-hardcore band expanding its horizons. Lacking the insipid love songs that we’ve grown accustomed to on the radio, this album would have been more talked about than Radiohead’s In Rainbows had all four volumes been released at once. As it is, these last two volumes are simply brilliant.

  6. Jack’s Mannequin – The Glass Passenger
    piano rock (read review)
    Purchase: Amazon, website

    “The Resolution” is, and will always remain, the best anthem to come out of this decade. I also enjoyed the fact that McMahon returned to his roots in pop/punk, because too much acoustic just wasn’t good for him.

  7. The Dodos – Visiter
    alternative, folk (read review)
    Purchase: Amazon, website

    As an eclectic mixture of the unexpected and the familiar, Visiter is the layman’s version of Portishead’s Third. Honestly, that fact alone makes me love this album even more. Portishead, take note.

  8. Yoav – Charmed & Strange
    alternative/indie pop (read review)
    Purchase: Amazon, website

    Simplicity in lyrics and form haven’t failed the music scene yet, and here’s another prime example. Yoav’s voice is a bit too stretched at times, but the album as a whole is a noteworthy debut.

  9. Tiger Lou – The Loyal
    indie-rock, alt pop (read review)
    Purchase: Amazon, website

    Although it was originally released in 2005, The Loyal was released in the U.S. via Eyeball Records this year, and gave me a newfound respect for that label. The songs here are repetitive but not at all tiring. I have to get my hands on some of their newer stuff.

  10. Augustana – Can’t Love, Can’t Hurt
    roots rock/piano rock (read review)
    Purchase: Amazon, website

    This country-tinged sophomore album by Augustana might not have garnered as much attention as it deserved but it’s getting its due here. Here’s a return to the basics in a laid-back California/Texas style. Yeah, I don’t get it either, but that’s what it is, isn’t it?

Here are some other releases (in alphabetical order) that you should check out:

Boris Smile’s Beartooth EP
Dido’s Safe Trip Home
Driver F’s Chase The White Whale
The Duke Spirit’s Neptune

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2008 / 5 stars / reviews / thrice — No Comments
5
Jan 09

The Alchemy Index Vol. 3 & 4 (2008) by Thrice

The Alchemy Index Vol. 3 & 4 by Thrice

Thrice
The Alchemy Index Volumes III and IV
2008, Vagrant Records
alt rock, acoustic, folk
5

Thrice’s four volumes of The Alchemy Index are testaments to the depth of talent in this band. I doubt anyone else could have taken such a pretentious idea as music based on the elements of earth, air, fire, and water and created something this timeless. Thrice has managed to mix blues, electronica, pop, folk, acoustic, and post-hardcore so confidently and convincingly that their previous Vheissu seems like child play. Furthermore, the limitation of six songs per element seems to have forced the band to concentrate on their music. Not a single note is wasted, and not a lyric is frivolous.

Air is vying with Water for my favorite element in this series. Starting with “Broken Lungs,” Air features lead singer Dustin Kensrue’s harsh voice against an echoing, empty background. The production is minimal and poignant, allowing the lyrics to shine that much more. This is the typical ‘man-against-the-world’ fare that is twisted to sound more like ‘man-against-himself.’ Earth, on the other hand, lacks the open-aired echoes of Air. Each song sounds as though it were recorded in a windowless hole, and the blues-y lyrics and instrumentation only further that sentiment.

As a final plus, all four volumes are devoid of sappy love songs. That, if nothing else, should convince you that this is worth the buy.

“Come All You Weary,” “Digging My Own Grave,” “A Song For Milly Michaelson.”
myspace, last.fm
Thrice’s The Alchemy Index Vol. 1 & 2, The Receiving End of Sirens’ The Earth Sings Mi Fa Mi

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