Thrice Rocks Hard and Makes Another Album Fans Can Enjoy on Horizons / East
4.4 out of 5 stars
Thrice has always been a band that I have enjoyed listening to, but I never seem to keep them on my radar often enough to really dig deep into their music or give them tons of listening time.
I will say that after having listened to their new album Horizons / East that may change. This album is definitely one of the better albums of 2021. It is 10 songs of some of the more intriguing music that I have heard from a band in awhile.
They have driving riffs and drum beats like in the song “Scavengers” that just make you want to jump around and get pumped up.
Then there are songs like “Buried in the Sun” and “Northern Lights” that are a lot more experimental or driven by a bit more of a dance type beat that makes for a very interesting sound in comparison to some of the faster songs.
The guitar work and drums are probably the best part of the album for me. For musicians, I think there is a lot to dig into and appreciate with this album.
“Summer Set Fire to the Rain” was the most recent single off the album, and I think it is my favorite song. It has a ton of energy, and rocks hard from beginning to end.
The whole album has a bit of a post-apocalyptic feel to it. The lyrics and music make you think that either the world has had some catastrophic events happen or is equating present-day to those catastrophic events that will essentially cause the world to be barely habitable.
“Dandelion Wine,” “Robot Soft Exorcism” and “The Color of the Sky” seem to be the best examples of this.
The album ends on “Unitive / East” which seems to imply that whatever darkness the rest of the album is detailing, things MAY show a sign or two of improvement.
The line, “Alive with fresh becomings- new grass beneath black skies” is about the most hopeful lyric on the whole album, and it is the last line.
Overall, I would say most rock fans are going to enjoy this album to some extent. It’s just mainstream sounding enough to be attractive to a wide audience, but it is experimental and conceptual enough to be interesting to fans and musicians who spend time digging into it...pretty much what you expect from Thrice.