The Thermals - Now We Can See [Album]

Kill Rock Stars

Maybe I shouldn’t have turned to The Thermals after reviewing apathy-mongers Crystal Stilts, not when I wanted to objectively review their fourth album, Now We Can See. After hearing a band sound so dispassionate though, a band like The Thermals are the sweetest refreshment. Make no mistake, The Thermals absolutely LOVE what they do. You don’t need to check with them before you make such a claim, it’s glaringly lucid in every song they write and perform. Lead singer Hutch Harris is a fully engaged frontman, who you imagine to be holding up a megaphone rather than a microphone. He certainly feels no embarrassment in his lyrics; he wants everyone to take note of every single word.

So what has he got to say? Well strangely for such an upbeat power-pop record, the main theme is death, at its cusp and in its wake. Opener “When I Died”, followed by “We Were Sick” (some questionable track list ordering there), and later “When We Were Alive” are the most obvious examples, but elsewhere death and its consequences feature at some point too. “I dug a hole/It was only as deep/As the ground I had known/I fell asleep/Just so I wouldn't be left to die all alone/I opened my mouth/hoping to shout/Hoping the words were true” sings Harris on “How We Fade”, one of his more reflective moments on Now We Can See.

Fan of The Thermal’s previous work will know that death is not an unfamiliar topic for Harris, and the same can be said of Now We Can See’s other reoccurring theme – water. Again, a couple of song titles provide obvious examples (“At the Bottom of the Sea”, “Liquid in, Liquid out”) but again, the theme crops up in many of the songs: “I took off my clothes/I took off my skin/Started shedding my arms/To start getting my fins/Crawled to the sea that was calling for me/so I could swim, swim the ocean wide/I was only just past the riptide/When I died/When I died” from “When I Died” combines both the album’s main themes.

Musically, as I mentioned earlier, Now We Can See is pure power-pop, and the most polished album The Thermals have produced to date. It’s replete with lush melodies and hooks, and as much of a cliché as this may be, it’s an album that’s impossible not to enjoy more when the sun has got his hat on (hip, hip, hip, hooray – you know you were singing it in your head). Pop music is a dish best served HOT! – save the winter for Sigur Ros.

So yeah I wanted to approach Now We Can See with an objective mind, but it’s clear that no matter who The Thermals follow on your turn-table/in your CD deck/on your ipod – they are a band it’s almost impossible not like. Even when at my most cynical, I find myself warmed by The Thermals’ sunny disposition. As Harris himself puts it, “I let it go, I let it go!”.

Track List:

1. When I Died
2. We Were Sick
3. I Let It Go
4. Now We Can See
5. At the Bottom of the Sea
6. When We Were Alive
7. I Called Out Your Name
8. When I Was Afraid
9. Liquid In, Liquid Out
10. How We Fade
11. You Dissolve