Review Summary: One of the best albums this year and of the past couple years. Though it has some faults they are minor and easily overlooked because of sheer magical moments throughout the entire collection of songs. A must listen for any fan of music.
When Thrice set out to record at guitarist Teppei Teranishi's house in Orange County, Dustin’s thoughts of “experimental EPs; more landscapes, nothing resembling a normal album or grouping of normal songs” had really begun. Dustin approached the rest of the band members with his concept after their tour supporting
Vheissu at summers end back in 2006. A series of albums or volumes that represented the four classical elements of Fire, Water, Air and Earth respectively was the launching point. From the direction they were on after the release of
Vheissu, it wasn’t surprising that they would all be on board for such a daunting challenge for this release. “Let’s give ourselves a new challenge and see if we can meet that challenge,” Riley said in regards to the start of the whole process. And if they were going to do it they were going to do it their way with no “outside” interference.
Embracing this new found freedom was guitarist Teppei who mixed, engineered and along with the rest of the band produced the entire project from the comfort of his own living room. To capture the soulful and grass roots vibe of the Earth disc the band implored just “two stereo mics” in the middle of Teppei’s living room that were never moved. For the Water disc they contributed predominately effect-drenched piano and drum loops with heavily processed vocals layered on top for a weightier and colder feel. Fire was approached with a heavier “riff based” mindset said Dustin, while Air was an amalgamation of all the EPs; more “traditional rock, bass and drum arrangements” Teppei noted.
Their maturity can easily be heard on these releases, from the recording and technical aspects to the arrangements and lyrics. The highlight of all four of the EPs would definitely be Dustin’s vocals and lyrics though. Here is the biggest evidence of a person growing before your very “ears.” The layers of complexity in every word he sings can be staggering at times when listening to songs such as “Child of Dust,” “Daedalus,” “Silver Wings” and “The Whaler.” Again, along with his vocals, he truly captures the “feelings” of each of these elements; whether it’s being in flight for the Air disc or burning something down to rebuild it again for the Fire disc. My own English professor was quite impressed by them when presented to her for a class project. In “Daedalus” he writes from the point of view of Icarus’ father and the pain of seeing ‘your own child or love one fail and or die’ trying to push or better themselves.
Now, I’ve read on other’s reviews where they complain about the last song on each disc being “too short.” I’ll explain something for people who may not know. Dustin set out to have an “element sonnet” on each disc; one that personifies a given element, in which that particular element gives a message to us about our failings. Here his writing shines with a great deal of complexity because he follows the English sonnet form of 14 lines in an iambic pentameter with an “a-b-a-b / c-d-c-d / e-f-e-f / g-g” rhyme scheme and a couplet at the end. To keep it a “sonnet” these guidelines needed to be followed and that’s why lines weren’t repeated for a chorus or what have you, so the songs remained short. The different timbres and vocal stylings presented to the listener throughout the four CDs is something to marvel. I believe when the music doesn’t quite live up to the element Dustin’s vocals are there to convince the listener otherwise. Listening to his raw and unadulterated shredding vocals on “The Flame Deluge,” then to his delicate and ethereal musings on “Silver Wings,” or “As the Crow Flies,” furthered on with his soulful and bluesy performance during “Moving Mountains” never does he come across as someone going overboard or someone missing their mark, even when a song is not quiet up to par.
Yes, there are some failings on this gigantic and stellar delivery. I believe the problem lies in trying to truly capture each element 100% of the time. If you look towards the Air disc this problem comes up more than once. On “Broken Lungs” and “The Sky Is Falling,” especially, the band ventures off course more than naught. Though on “Broken Lungs” they seem to still pull it back here and there, but on “The Sky Is Falling” the whole concept of Air is convoluted and tainted. Unwarranted handclaps and Oboe noises trying to imitate birds just doesn’t work for me even though on paper it sounds interesting. The other problem area, I find, is on the Fire disc, where most of the songs seem like refined pre-Vheissu Thrice music, which is not a bad thing, but I wish they would have explored or dabbled in something a little “different” sounding in the heavy department. Now, these are more of a personal preference thing than any real faults, I guess.
The thing with this release is that even though it has those “out of place moments” they are undeniably redeemed or forgotten about when listening to songs such as “Silver Wings,” “The Arsonist” and the entire collection of songs on both the Water and Earth EP. Some of these songs are instant classics for me and truly the greatest thing released by this band or most bands out there right now. There’s a genius behind such songs as “Milly Michaelson” with its simplistic drone-like guitar arrangement back dropped by the sparse and swirling build-ups of “airy” noises to the haunting, seemingly forgotten, child-like lullaby of “The Lion and the Wolf.” The beautiful and lush harmonies on “Open Water” gives impresses of the Beach Boys, at the same time giving the sensation that a wall of water is coming the listener’s way. The ending to this entire project is probably the most disturbing and visceral idea put to wax. During the couplet at the end of “Child of Dust:”
“Now safe beneath their wisdom and their feet
Here I will teach you truly how to sleep.”
You can hear the mounds of dirt and soil cover and close the casket, whether or not from their side or your side, distancing the vocals and music resulting in a chillingly and unconventional ending.
With every listen, from the start of this project to the end, I never once find myself looking at how much time is left nor do I have any antsy feelings of wanting to get to the next song, even when I’m on one that isn’t quite up to par. The worst song on this entire collection is better than anything they’ve done before and better than anything popular right now. When Riley said he just wanted the band to meet the demands of this new challenge, I would have to say they did it with flying colors. This whole project was, from the looks of it, a touchy subject because no one thought they could do it. On paper it sounds silly and overblown, but not once does either of those words cross my mind when listening. I applaud Thrice for achieving, and dare I say, surpassing my expectations.
