The Thermals
The Body, The Blood, The Machine
SubPop Records 

Sure, songs loaded with harps, xylophones, and harmonicas are fun, but sometimes what you really need is a swift kick in the pants. The Thermals latest full length The Body, The Blood, The Machine is not only swift, it is also impetuously entertaining. From the opening church organ of ‘Here’s Your Future’ to the final discordant moments of the final ballad ‘I Hold the Sound’, the Portland, Oregon trio wring the most out of their two-chord pop punk formula and manage to get some toes tapping with a much appreciated shot of melody.
Fans of their older material may raise eye brows at the better production and slower pace, but the overall growth of the band is worth any DIY, lo-fi cred they may have shed. Also vocalist Hutch Harris’ lyrics have taken on an even more paranoid and ludicrous finish. The Body, The Blood, The Machine’s story is one of a world gone to Christian Hell, and the loose narrative focuses on the means and need to escape. Whether or not Harris’ sings these lyrics with tongue in cheek, the fact is there was enough passion behind them to create a fast, reckless, FUN album that ranks as one of the best of the year.

If only every band put as much raw energy into their delivery as they do into their glockenspiel arrangements.

MP3
A Pillar of Salt

Websites
http://www.myspace.com/thethermals
http://www.thethermals.com
http://www.subpop.com