The Thermals - Insound Tour Support 2.0
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Label : n/a
Style : Indie
Grabber: EAC
Encoder: LAME
Quality: VBR/44,1kHz
Reldate: 09.Jan.2011
Street : 00.00.2007
Songs : 13
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Release Notes:
One of a series of CDs issued by the online music store Insound, the
limited run Insound Tour Support 2.0 captures the Thermals performing
live in a Seattle radio studio and a San Francisco club. The CD also
includes an acoustic version of "Welcome to the Planet" cut for
Canty's Burn to Shine 3 DVD.
Recorded Live on KEXP, Seattle 9/1/06
Live at Bottom of the Hill, San Francisco 4/3/09
Acoustic 2005-06
Having made the leap in just three albums from four-track
lo-fi recordings to stunning mid-fi, the Thermals aren't
exactly prized for innovation. Cracking open their vaults
doesn't promise a whole lot of surprises. But consistency
remains a virtue even for groups that can count their
releases on one hand, and Hutch Harris and co. don't even
break their streak on a promotional live record. Previous
Insound tour support outings held a lot of hidden gems for
fans, and while there's only one new song here to speak of,
they've picked a sure bet to kickstart the series again. The
fidelity here moves from live-in-the-studio radio shows to
homespun demos, but thankfully, the Thermals write simple,
effective songs that sound great in any cast, whether it's a
rough live recording or a quick acoustic sketch.
The disc begins with a recent radio session for KEXP,
picking four tracks from their latest, The Body, the Blood,
the Machine. Opening on "Returning to the Fold" is
particularly inspired, as it's an overlooked highlight whose
lyrics added a note of hesitation and ambiguity to what
could have been an album of one-note Bush-bashing and
conservative baiting, given its loose concept. It sounds
like the session was recorded when they band were still just
three members strong (before touring with an added
guitarist), and the guitars don't suffer or drop out while
Harris hits all his notes and his vocals retain the same
ranting drama and bile. Still, these versions aren't much
different from their album counterparts: Guitars still chug
out the changes, Harris' cutting yelp still hovers above the
fray somewhere while singing melodies indelible by the
second listen, the rhythm section still bounds like a
hyperactive child, and it's still hilarious in when Harris
rhymes "bill" with "feel" on "I Might Need You to Kill."
More live tracks follow, with the bulk of the disc coming
from a concert at Bottom of the Hill in San Francisco,
featuring songs culled from their previous two albums and
much more spirited performances. "Back to the Sea" is only
Body track here, and while it does mark a change in the
relentless tempo, it sounds sluggish and out of place
amongst the older material. "A Passing Feeling" shines out
in particular, as its brief voice-and-drum break seems to
gain more charm the faster it's played.
The unreleased song "Welcome to the Planet" introduces the
acoustic segment that closes the record, and unfortunately
it's a disappointment, too long by half and one of the only
instances where Harris' lyrics are so inane they sink the
irrepressible melody. It's redeemed by acoustic versions of
"I Know the Pattern" and "A Pillar of Salt", slightly
cleaned up and refined in their stripped-down form, but
whatever they've lost in urgency they gain in poignancy. So
God bless the Thermals for keeping it simple, for writing a
political album whose greatest conceit is rhyming
"tornadoes" and "nazi halos," and for not losing sight of
what made them great in the first place. If they'd simply
made three albums that proved three- or four-chord punk-pop
still has life in it, that would have been plenty. The high
note they're still riding makes this particular barrel worth
scraping, for fans or anyone else. Jason Crock
www.myspace.com/thethermals
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Track List:
01. Returning to the Fold (Live on KEXP) 02:38
02. I Might Need You to Kill (Live on KEXP) 02:31
03. Here's Your Future (Live on KEXP) 02:26
04. St-Rosa and the Swallows (Live on KEXP) 03:58
05. A Stare Like Yours (Live at Bottom of the Hill) 02:52
06. A Passing Feeling (Live at Bottom of the Hill) 01:44
07. Brace and Break (Live at Bottom of the Hill) 02:06
08. Back to the Sea (Live at Bottom of the Hill) 04:48
09. Our Trip (Live at Bottom of the Hill) 01:52
10. Every Stitch (Live at Bottom of the Hill) 02:12
11. Welcome to the Planet (Acoustic) 03:40
12. I Know the Pattern (Acoustic) 03:16
13. A Pillar of Salt (Acoustic) 03:03
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Total
37:06 min