Album Review: Thrice

Thrice – Palms
(Epitaph Records)

My first experience of Thrice was by proxy – having heard a brilliant cover of their 2017 single “Hurricane” before checking out the original version. Since then I’ve remained a fan, pleased to be able to attempt to catch up on 20-odd years of brilliant rock music I’ve somehow missed out on. And then they released “Palms” in September last year, an album which topped the US Indie and Hard Rock album charts and is described by the band as more musically diverse than previous albums.

While these sort of statements can be a warning light indicating a drastic style change from the norm, such is not the case with Thrice – instead they have delivered a well rounded collection of tracks which build on those that have come before without ignoring them completely. Existing fans will find more to love. New fans will find plenty to chew on, from post-hardcore to piano ballads to straight up rock music, as well as all of the reasons to check out Thrice’s back catalogue. Appealing to fans of bands such as Deftones, Dustin Kensrue’s vocals stand out as they always have; gravel delivering insightful and expressive lyrics.

Opening track “Only Us” is immediate evidence of the album’s diversity; sporting a trendy retrowave/darkwave introduction with arpeggios gently reminiscent of the Stranger Things theme, this influence underscores the remainder of the track, but works well in combination with Thrice’s sound.

Following that up is “The Grey”, the first single from the album and from all angles a good, traditional rock song that ought to catch a lot of interest. Lyrically the song speaks in colours – of being fed up with black and white, of seeing things in such a simple way and trying to “lean into the grey”. In an interview with Rocktambulous, Kensrue stated, “‘The Grey’ is about coming to grips with the complex contexts of our lives and the world around us. It’s about attempting to see what’s actually unfolding around you instead of seeing what you have decided is there.” As profound as this is, in my opinion, musically it’s one of the less interesting tracks on the album – if you’ve only heard the single then do yourself a favour and spend some time with its fellows.

If “The Grey” lyrics are about looking between the lines of life itself, then “Everything Belongs” seems to be about having finally seen what’s there. The aforementioned ballad comes in at track five on the album, and it’s beautifully expressive. Dynamically rich, the traditional instrumentation befits the type of realisation that the lyrics speak of as well as providing a satisfying break approximately halfway through the album’s progression. It’s definitely a surprise when compared to surrounding tracks, but it’s not out of place by any means.

Closing the album is “Beyond the Pines” – a goosebump inducing tune that showcases Kensrue’s incredible songwriting talent. While the music and lyrics combined are is more than enough to induce four minutes of eyes-closed, reflective me-time (preferably wrapped up in the protective embrace of some good, noise-cancelling headphones), it might be the minute of silence inserted at the end of the track which really pushes it home, encouraging the listener to reflect on what’s just happened while they wait to see if there’s any more to come. If you are one of those people who rarely makes it to the end of a full album, make sure that you do with this one – it’s worth it.

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