The Thermals move from Sub Pop to Kill Rock Stars; can now see
The Thermals are one of those bands that I didn’t discover until a couple of years ago, but have spent the time since making it for it by listening to them almost constantly. So I was rather excited at the prospect of a new record, which also happens to be the first on the Kill Rock Stars label. It’s certainly an album that reflects that change, almost as if the band is attempting to start anew.
The fundamentals are still largely the same. Hutch Harris’ unmistakable vocals still dominate each song, and it does still manage to rock out. Kind of. Which is my main hesitancy toward Now We Can See. It’s all solid enough for sure, decent rock hooks are all over it, but it all feels kind of safe. It never really hurtles along at the faster than light dash that the previous records tended to.
All of which would probably be fine if the lyrics were there. Sadly they seem to be softer than before too. There’s no rallying against government and religion that stood the band out previously. There aren’t many bands making purely political records, and it’s a shame to lose another one of them. Maybe in these post-Bush days there isn’t quite the urgency for such things.
Don’t get me wrong, I really do like the album. If it were by any other band it’d probably end up being one of my favourites of the year or something. It’s just not what I’ve come to expect from The Thermals. I’m sure I’ll adjust in time though.
Now We Can See is released on April 7 by Kill Rock Stars.
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