Last Week Around the -ISTs
Schieffer's Out of Gov Race
![True Stories Can Be Stranger Than Fiction [Extra Extra ]](http://austinist.com/assets_c/2009/01/nightskyline-thumb-110x110-53663.jpg)
True Stories Can Be Stranger Than Fiction [Extra Extra ]
Now We Can See is an epilogue of sorts to the destruction of "The Body, The Blood, The Machine," featuring a postmortem jubilation that is particularly well suited to the Thermals’ punk overtones. This Portland pop punk band proudly continues in the tradition of punk’s overt and outsized (i.e. over-amped) political messages; the concept here is perhaps meant to hold up a mirror to the resurrection of American optimism in much the same way "The Body, The Blood, The Machine" was a snapshot of the dread overshadowing the early 2000s. Its narrator didn’t cheat death—he died full of regrets—but now revels in letting it go.
The track "When We Were Alive," is both a nod to the Ramones and a set-piece for Hutch Harris’ downright masterful lyrics: "We closed our minds/we shut our traps/we built a house/the house collapsed/we sold the wood/and bought the farm/and now we’ve got a place/in the dirt/in the backyard." Musically as well, this is an album of magnetic simplicity. Turn it up very loud, and it becomes irresistible. Harris’ vocals convince you that buying the farm must be as liberating as it sounds. Reason to dance, indeed.
The Thermals recorded their first album in Harris’ kitchenette on a 4-track, setting them back $10. It served them extremely well, eventually landing in the hands of Death Cab For Cutie's Chris Walla, who mixed it and went on to record their second album. A steady progression from no-fi to some-fi all the way to the comparatively slick Now We Can See has been very deliberate on behalf of the band and their producers, which have included Brendan Canty of Fugazi.
Even if this seems a dubious evolution to no-fi fans, the Thermals’ decision to clean up their sound is understandable. Vocals as adept as Harris’ shouldn’t get drowned out as static-y shots over the bow- his is a voice you want steering the whole raucous ship. And wherever they’re headed, it’s gonna be a fun ride. -Rachael Sawyer
The Thermals will be in Austin May 22 at the Mohawk for Chaos in Tejas.
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I caught The Thermals at SXSW. They are pretty awesome.