Customer Reviews

Fuckin a

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I love these guys - every once in a while a band shows up that hits me the right way, and the Thermals do it for me. After getting "The Body, The Blood, The Machine", I knew I had to get their first two albums to see how they developed. "F'ing A" has the anger of their latest, but the songs are on a wider set of topics. A bit more urgent, a bit less detailed, more catchy, less interesting. It doesn't preach like the latest, but it doesn't pull any punches either. "Pray for, a new state - pray for assasination". Any questions on where they are coming from?

I love these guys...

The Thermals rip ugly. If you like any of the bands listed up there for "similar artists", I personally guarantee that this CD will be the best six bucks you ever spend. It is a fantastic breed of almost melodious "punk", these guys are no Yellowcard folks.

One of the greatest band around right now. All of there songs are fast and energetic. If your looking for a new artist to listen too, the thermals is it. Listen to "How we know" I like that one the best.

To read all of this review or many more like it check out my music review blog @ http://twowaymonologues.blogspot.com

I thought this band was Canadian, they aren't. They are in fact out of Portland and i'm a bit confused as to how I came to think they were Canadian. Regardless the band is The Thermals, and the sound is somewhere on the cusp between punk and very hard rock music. I heard the big song off this album "How You Know" around six months ago and have wanted to hear the album ever since. It took me this long to find all of it.

So what can you expect out of this? You can expect 12 short, concise songs that never take their collective foot off of the pedal. The album runs for 26 minutes, which would be disappointing if the 26 minutes weren't so much bloody fun. Vocally the best comparison I can come up with for Hutch Harris is that his voice actually brings to mind a strong comparison to either Ted Leo, or Jim Adkins from Jimmy Eat World. Except for imagine either of those guys using their voice but doing so in a pure punk style. Hutch Harris has a good voice, although my one complaint is that he doesn't show a ton of range due to the style of track 1-12 being relatively similar. Come to think of it this is why normally I stray away from punk/hard rock. I like variety in my music, and it is such a restrictive sound. With this album though it is only a minor complaint. The band isn't spectacular, but they are aggressive and sometimes that is all you need to be. Think Ted Leo & The Pharmacists meet Billy Talent (when they are going full throttle) and you might be able to imagine the sound.

"You spilled water like love and now we'll tak it if you can't sake it", opens the infectious and loveable single "How We Know". If you were lucky enough to hear The Thermals this is likely the song you heard. And in all honesty if you bought the album entirely on the strength of this song you might very well have been disappointed. This song actually kinda follows a screamo format with most of the verses and even the chorus sometimes being sung softer than anything on the album, but from time to time Hutch turns the mother up and is more or less screaming out his lyrics. On the softer verses you'll definitely see my Jim Adkins comparison. Instrumentally the song revolves around a very catchy but awfully simple sounding guitar riff. On the difficulty scale the album and this song don't score high marks, but sometimes it is better to do something in your range extremely well than to try and be something you aren't.

Only a few times a year do I hear a really hard rock or punk album that I would score highly, and like to have in my collection. The last one that did was the latest from My Chemical Romance, and the first album of 2005 to do so is this by The Thermals. I don't get the urge to rock out nearly as much as "The Destroyer" does but when I do my options are limited. It will be nice to be able to add a new album to that equation. I recommend this album to anybody who into punk or hard rock and not just the massively popular mainstream artists at the forefront of those genres. And hey if i'm wrong, it will only last 26 minutes of your life. I think you can spare them.

Songs that you should download: "Our Trip", "How We Know", "A Stare Like Yours", "Let Your Earth Quake Baby", "God & Country"

SCORE 7.9 (You know how in the olympics if you do a simpler dive and execute to perfection you can still only score so high. Well hopefully you do, because that same theory applies to why the Thermals cap out at 7.9. )

This is my favorite Thermals CD. The first time through it may sound like they are just another loud punkish trio, but the lyrics are at a cerebral level not often found in music. The ideas give this CD much more replay ability...good for those of you like me who can have fickle and fleeting music commitments.

Hutch's songs have a self awareness that is clever and brilliant.Your body will be happy rocking out and your mind sated with the conundrum of future moments and repetition in a song about keeping time.

2 1/2


Thermals briefly blaze through a better constructed set of still-battling-mediocre indie punk.

The Thermals kick my ass every day with brutal sonic punishment, and I love it.

i would have to say i enjoy the theremals' previous release "more parts per million" more than this. although this is still good its not quite up to par. this is a little more raw and in general i didnt find the vocals as captivating. its a good disc and is still lots of fun, but you should probably check out MMPM over this one. even better, go see them live!
overall, i'd have to say the thermals rule and this is probably worth owning.

the thermals will not let you down

the sound quality is way better then on the first album. the vocals are crystal clear and the music is freaking awesome

the best tracks are 'how we know' and 'let your earth quake baby' but the whole album is amazing

it is definately worth buying
and if you already love the thermals and have their first album, there is no reason why you shouldnt have this album already

even though i do prefer the first album slightly more this is still a 5 star album and is the second best album of the new millennium with only "more parts per million" surpassing it. once you see them play the new songs live they become every bit as infectious as the earlier songs. listening to this album i swear to God i was able to drive from new work to Los Angeles in 28 minutes since "the thermals music enables you to travel faster then the speed of sound." (Albert Einstein) that 28 minute drive even included being pulled over once by an officer of the law who thought i was having an epileptic seizure as my body fought the G-force coming from my speaker. if they played this album in factories productivity would increase at least 200% because you absolutely cannot stay still when listening to it. it's like audio crack. highly recommended for people who are always tapping a foot or shaking a leg....and if you haven't already check out their first album as it surpasses the brilliance of this one. and when you come down check out hutch and kathy's releases on K records...nice and folksy