ALBUM REVIEW// THE THERMALS – PERSONAL LIFE (KILL ROCK *s)

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Preorder Personal Life here and get an autographed CD booklet

MP3: The Thermals- I’m Gonna Change Your Life

MP3: The Thermals- When I Died (from Now We Can See)

Sometimes a good review can be a bad review and vice versa.  Take for instance this snippet from Paste Magazine’s evaluation of The Thermals Personal Life (Kill Rock Stars, out 9/7)

“It’s a sea change, in terms of the band’s sound; their previous albums’ hyper-political, sturm und drang punk fury is almost entirely gone, replaced by easygoing power-pop more akin to fellow Pacific Northwesteners Built to Spill.”

If I were to read that and not pay attention to 8.8/10 that they gave the record I would consider canceling my preorder.  Part of what has made The Thermals such a great band is their brash, explosive and jagged three-piece barrage.  Each successive album came packaged with more energy and a tighter focus than the last culminating with 2009’s Now We Can See. That album went nuclear from the first notes of “When I Died” and it only picked up steam.  And to think that the massive sound that Hutch Harris and Kathy Foster (touring drummer Westin Glass has now joined the band) built across four albums had been replaced by easygoing power-pop wasn’t only disappointing to read, it made me ill.

Thankfully the sickness lasted less than a second into Personal Life. From the first sludgy strums of “I’m Gonna Change Your Life” until Hutch’s joyfully familiar and angst filled vocals slid through the window, it was easy to hear that all of their previous power was still in tact.  The formula of simple song structures that brim, ooze and slop energy and emotion all over the floor can be found all over Personal Life. Songs like “Power Lies” and “Your Love Is So Strong” would’ve fit on any other Thermals album.

However there is a small change afoot.   The lyrical content slants a bit more towards self-reflection and relationships.  While Now We Can See was a juggernaut it still had some ‘breathers’ built in.  Slower songs and speed bump harmonies made it a well-rounded album with a bit of an identity crisis.  Lo-ified-punk rock with some songs to sway to mixed in to keep the listener’s adrenaline in check.   Personal Life builds on those less aggressive tracks as a foundation, while never straying too far from the raucous we’re used to.  I’ve always thought the punkest variable of The Thermals was Harris’s vocals and while he doesn’t shout quite as loud on “I Don’t Believe You” or “Not Like Any Other Feeling,” they still shine.

Personal Life is a fitting name for the fifth record from the Portlanders.  While the sound is toned down a touch I wasn’t expecting a blitzkrieg like Fuckin A or More Parts Per Million when I heard the title.  And not to fear, longtime fans shouldn’t feel left behind by the “sea change” mentioned in the Paste review and you certainly won’t lose any street cred for loving the hell out of Personal Life. Oh, but if you are looking for sprawling guitars, art noise and Doug Martsch’s beard you’re going to need to put on your copy of Keep it Like a Secret. That’s nowhere to be found here.

PS: I love Built to Spill

PPS: I’d prefer to never read Built to Spill and power-pop in the same sentence EVAR again.