album of the week: 10.1

The Thermals

Personal Life

Kill Rock Stars (2010)

why you'll love it: The Thermals are still as charming and catchy as ever

why you'll hate it: continuously getting softer and more repetitive

Here is the short simple version of this review: The Thermals are continuing to tone down with each release. Personal Life has very little abrasiveness, but a whole lot of catchy hooks. Too many, for some people. The lyrics are vague and repetitive. There seems to be very little substance to this release, but the few moments of brilliance really leave their mark.

Now here is the totally subjective, and probably wrong interpretation of Personal Life: I found the lyrics to this album to be annoyingly contradicting and egotistical. Since this is the band that wrote the triumph that is The Body The Blood The Machine (2006 album that sticks it too American Christianity better than Bad Religion ever has), there must be something more to this.

I enjoyed last year's Now We Can See for what it was, but have recently grown to love it even more because of a connection I made that may not even be there. The album's theme of death, when turned into a metaphor for reaching adulthood (a stage in life where most people resign to a lifestyle or belief that they will stick with until death), opened up the album for me. The songs now feel much more versatile. Songs of people who fear this stage, who walk into it unwillingly, who deny it and only look to their past glory days; all sorts of personalities cover the songs.

I started thinking out Personal Life in this way, and drawing a line that is even more dotted than Now We Can See. I see this album as coming from a societal perspective of people having a long for connections, but only to benefit themselves. The album art of two people yelling into a microphone, neither listening, paints the picture quite well. We have so many things in our society now advertised to make connections, but we only use them to boost our own egos. Twitter accounts; youtube vlogs, etc…

So, I've recently taken Personal Life to be a light criticism told through songs that are lovely and influential in tone, but are written from the perspective of nothing more than a selfish desire to be loved and followed, no matter who. Songs like "Never Listen to Me" and "I'm Gonna Change Your Life" are my prime examples; but in my heart I know I must be getting it all wrong. I just thought I'd share with you this theory, because honestly, this is a musically simple album that doesn't do much else than get you to tap your toes a bit. The Thermals are turning into something like the pillows; a charming little band, but shuffling into obscurity just a little bit more with every release. Kathy Foster's creative bass lines, and a few charming guitar riffs are the stars of this album, the rest is left up to your imagination.