EDIT (way after the fact....)I'm ashamed that I didn't realize this before, seeing as how I knew and loved the song several years ago, but "The Earth Isn't Humming" is actually an old Frodus song. Thrice's version is still pretty awesome, and the rest of my statements about the sound below still hold true.
4 out of 5
This is the second part of Thrice’s two-(or technically 4-)part series, The Alchemy Index, originally conceived as a series of four EPs, each representing the feel and sound of one of the elements. Last year’s Vol. 1 & 2: Fire & Water was an uneven affair, with the heavy and aggressive Fire seeming entirely at odds with the electronic and much quieter Water. Perhaps if they had mixed the sounds a bit instead of stacking them on either side of the record (which, to be fair, was released as two separate discs), but instead, especially in this constant-stream-of-music iPod culture, it felt like one album and one that wasn’t very well sequenced.
By contrast, this year’s Vol. 3 & 4: Air & Earth is much more consistent and a better listen from beginning to end. The crunch and electronics of Vol. 1 & 2 are mostly replaced here (though they do make appearances) with much more experimental (at least for Thrice) acoustic instruments, hand-claps (and other digit-al percussion), piano, wind-instruments, and wind chimes.
The first half, Air, is, of course, hypnotic and airy, and makes the personal political, exploring the fear, paranoia, loss of innocence and growing up that people do in a post-9/11 world from the perspective of the head of a
family. “A Song for Milly Michaelson” sounds like a Thursday track pre-bombast, and “Daedalus,” a warning/lament from father to son Icarus, is reminiscent of the guitar orchestratics of Japanese instrumental band Mono, hinting that it would be just as interesting without the vocals. The echo on the guitars in “As The Crow Flies” even makes it sound somewhat like a harp.
The second half then is just personal, sounding much earthier (it’s called Earth, duh…) and much more - in a word - “Appalachian.” In fact, the folk-y influence of singer/guitarist Dustin Kensrue’s solo album is written all over this half, and it’s nice to see him bring that part of his musicality to the Thrice fold. “Moving Mountains,” is full of banjos and tambourines, and “Digging My Own Grave” is Tom Waits-ian piano-bar noir.
Those worried about the loss of the urgency of early-Thrice need not worry too much, as “The Earth Isn’t Humming” is like a super-heavy Page & Plant No Quarter acoustic caravan (and makes me wonder what an episode of Unplugged starring Thrice would sound like), but it’s great to see the band explore and expand on their sound, and do it well. The last song on the album, “Child of Dust,” ends with the music going muffled beneath a sound like dirt hitting a coffin lid, which, while terribly appropriate for the vibe of Earth, hopefully doesn’t mean that Thrice will be burying this part of their sound any time soon.
By contrast, this year’s Vol. 3 & 4: Air & Earth is much more consistent and a better listen from beginning to end. The crunch and electronics of Vol. 1 & 2 are mostly replaced here (though they do make appearances) with much more experimental (at least for Thrice) acoustic instruments, hand-claps (and other digit-al percussion), piano, wind-instruments, and wind chimes.
The first half, Air, is, of course, hypnotic and airy, and makes the personal political, exploring the fear, paranoia, loss of innocence and growing up that people do in a post-9/11 world from the perspective of the head of a
family. “A Song for Milly Michaelson” sounds like a Thursday track pre-bombast, and “Daedalus,” a warning/lament from father to son Icarus, is reminiscent of the guitar orchestratics of Japanese instrumental band Mono, hinting that it would be just as interesting without the vocals. The echo on the guitars in “As The Crow Flies” even makes it sound somewhat like a harp.The second half then is just personal, sounding much earthier (it’s called Earth, duh…) and much more - in a word - “Appalachian.” In fact, the folk-y influence of singer/guitarist Dustin Kensrue’s solo album is written all over this half, and it’s nice to see him bring that part of his musicality to the Thrice fold. “Moving Mountains,” is full of banjos and tambourines, and “Digging My Own Grave” is Tom Waits-ian piano-bar noir.
Those worried about the loss of the urgency of early-Thrice need not worry too much, as “The Earth Isn’t Humming” is like a super-heavy Page & Plant No Quarter acoustic caravan (and makes me wonder what an episode of Unplugged starring Thrice would sound like), but it’s great to see the band explore and expand on their sound, and do it well. The last song on the album, “Child of Dust,” ends with the music going muffled beneath a sound like dirt hitting a coffin lid, which, while terribly appropriate for the vibe of Earth, hopefully doesn’t mean that Thrice will be burying this part of their sound any time soon.
=james
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