The Thermals

Desperate Ground

Written by: PP on 20/05/2013 22:55:18

While all the attention within the garage rock scene is swirling around the new releases by mastodons The Hives and The Strokes, an exciting and vibrant band has been tirelessly working the underground creating precisely the kind of buzz that is needed to make a band both sound and feel just awesome. That band is The Thermals, who since 2002 have been brewing their fuzzy and energetic flavor of lo-fi garage rock with a touch of indie-rock sensibility plastered on top, releasing one solid album after another without a mainstream breakthrough.

On the surface, sixth album "Desperate Ground" is really no different from other albums by the band, meaning it's jam-packed with simplistic, but solid three-minute garage rockers that'll have you singing along to repeated one-liner type of lyrics during chorus sections. But where that was also very much the case for "Personal Life" three years ago, it wasn't quite as electrifying as "Now We Can See" and especially their de facto classic "The Body, The Blood, The Machine" from 2006. The feeling of animation and vibrancy that wasn't present to the same degree on that album makes a huge return on "Desperate Ground", arguably even surpassing the brilliance of "Now We Can See" on the first five tracks to this CD. It's hard to put down onto paper the exact details that make these songs better than the previous Thermals songs, but they are ridiculously catchy, and carry the dynamic of a spirited band playing songs that they love. It's that sense of energy, that feeling of buzz, that vibe of vibrant guitar resonation that makes the songs so good.

That results into great cuts like "I Go Alone", one of the finest songs in The Thermals discography, which is not only lyrically smart, but also carries an unforgettable melody line despite being a slower song than most on the record. Many others are namely high-octane garage punk, only slightly below the frenetic levels of The Hives. But whichever the style, the expression of The Thermals on disc is that of warmth and that of vibrant fuzziness. This is their best material since "The Body, The Blood, The Machine".

Download: I Go Alone, Born To Kill, You Will Be Free, The Sunset
For the fans of: The White Stripes, The Hold Steady, Cloud Nothing, The Buzzcocks, The Hives,
Listen: Facebook

Release date 16.04.2013
Saddle Creek Records

Related Items | How we score?
Comments
comments powered by Disqus

Legal

© Copyright MMXXIV Rockfreaks.net.