album of the week: 5.1

The Thermals
Desperate Ground
(2013)

why you'll love it: high energy punk rock anthems done right
why you'll hate it:  Terrible production, too short, little variation in tone


And now for something on the opposite side of the spectrum.  The Knife's latest release was a complicated piece of work.  So as a palette cleanser, we have a traditionally simple band doing their most straightforward album yet.  What The Thermals seemingly lack in is what also gives them their charm.  Unashamed and honest pop-punk. Only their noisy debut, More Parts Per Million (2003), was a hard to swallow.  Each release since then has become cleaner, catchier, and (in my opinion) more clever.  Their last three albums have been concept albums, and well written ones at that.

With Desperate Ground, they may have over-simplified even their own standards.  Off the bat, the most striking trait is dingy production.  If the lo-fi tone of their first two albums was what they were going for, they fucked up, because the whole album has an awfully muddy mix.  Kathy Foster usually provides some very memorable bass lines to a Thermals release, but is completely buried in the mix here.  Hutch sounds like he's singing underwater, and the drums sound paper thin.  The production isn't a deal breaker for me, as I see The Thermals as a DIY "We'll play anywhere on any PA" simple garage band; but it is excuse enough to just drop this album entirely.  It really does sound that poor.

As for the content itself; this is the most energized I've heard the Thermals since they were on Sub Pop Records in the early 2000s.  A lot of power surges through this cheap recording equipment.  The cassette tape like production masks a lot of professionalism, but not their talent to write a fun, fast, and catchy song.  The first three tracks are a good running start to this album.  Unfortunately, their simplistic nature and paper thin concept leaves them running out of gas, even with the whole affair lasting 26 minutes.

The title track itself says everything the album has to say.  "Born To Kill".  Desperate Ground is a look into the mind of a mentally unhinged solider.  Programmed from childhood, indoctrinated by his country, or in a maddening state of PTSD?  I'm not sure, but the concept is so simple and nebulous, that the following nine tracks only serve to describe the same exact character.  They only concoct more synonyms, rather than build on the character or tell a story with him.  Then again, the ambiguity, and absence of a hammy political message somehow makes the atmosphere feel natural and pure.  

It's cool that The Thermals are so committed to concept albums, but this one feels unfinished, on just about every factor.  It's a shame, because some of these songs do kick ass.  This is a Bad Boys 2 sized action movie on the budget of The Toxic Avenger.   All of it's bright points are quickly undercut by poor production, and a concept that overstays its welcome.  I'm still really excited to see them live later this month, including these songs.  It's just, as an album, this is poorly produced, light on ideas, and fairly unremarkable.