Review Summary: Thrice put their best foot forward and deliver an improvement on Horizons/East in every way.
When 'Gnash' first graced my ears more than two months prior to
Horizons/West's release, I could barely contain my excitement. The aggressive vocals, the reverb-drenched guitars, and the sheer grittiness of those electronic grooves had me in a nostalgic free fall to 2007's
The Alchemy Index – my first ever experience with Thrice. With the
Fire EP serving as my introduction to the band – shortly followed by a mad dash to the record store that very same week to purchase
Vheissu –
heavy Thrice is ingrained in my memory as perhaps
the most important aspect of the band's identity. For as solid as Thrice's post-
Major/Minor career has been, the one thing that's been noticeably missing since that comeback is
these types of songs: the ones that raise the hairs on the back of your neck. Thrice are capable of impressing in plenty of other ways, particularly their hook-laced melodies and Dustin Kensrue's penchant for life changing lyrics, but hearing the entire band simply burn it all to the ground on 'Gnash' felt soul-cleansing. It was like hearing Thrice for the first time again.
While
Horizons/West's median tempo is a far cry from what 'Gnash' led with, the feeling I get from it is the same. This is the best Thrice release since at least
To Be Everywhere Is To Be Nowhere not because it stretches the band's style in any new direction, but because it executes their core sound better than they have in a very long time. 'Blackout' is a slow-burning, slow-building introduction that swirls in a murky, flame-kissed guitar concoction until urgent chants cut through the mix like some sort of grand awakening. The way 'Holding On' erupts from an ominous simmer to a full band jam session in a matter of seconds is enough to get your adrenaline flowing and your fists pumping in the air. The late guitar solo on 'The Dark Glow' is as majestic as any that Thrice have written since 2011's 'Anthology'. Kensrue absolutely cuts loose vocally on 'Crooked Shadows' atop discordant riffs and subtly complex drum fills, while 'Distant Suns' is simultaneously the catchiest and most atmospheric piece on the record – a truly stunning aesthetic combination that immediately places it among the best post-reunion Thrice songs.
West is just an onslaught of best-foot-forward Thrice, and it serves as an improvement over
Horizons/East in every perceivable way.
All of this is before we even get to the album's twin tower closers, the nearly six-minute 'Vesper Light' and the nearly seven-minute 'Unitive/West'. 'Vesper Light' sees Kensrue singing in a gentle, angelic pitch to open the song before destructive riffs blow it all up into a thousand pieces. The song continues to alternate between healing verses and bloodthirsty breakdowns, eventually pivoting to a gradual post-rock build-up, and then releasing all of its tension with a subtle yet gorgeous guitar solo that is semi-reminiscent of
Beggars' 'Circles' (which was always one of my all-time favorite Thrice moments). 'Unitive/West' feels like what would happen if the ending of 'Beyond The Pines' stumbled into the
Air EP. Slow, meditative verses preside over elegant chimes, creating this sense of buoyancy and utter tranquility. It's the kind of thing Thrice have strived for many times since
Vheissu's 'Atlantic' and have only nailed a handful of times; this is another time in which they hit the mark with precision. The song slowly fades into the ether – again not unlike 'Beyond The Pines' – only this time the progression feels totally earned and natural.
Unlike its sister album
Horizons/East,
West is without a weak track. There are songs that are not quite as essential to the flow of the album, such as 'Albatross', which feels like a midtempo holdover from the
Palms era, or the minute and a half ambient interlude we receive on 'Dusk'. Thrice could also stand to dial up the aggression more often – as they did on 'Gnash' and a handful of other moments scattered across
West – if for no other reason than to magnify the impact of the slower, more thoughtful cuts. As with any band that has trekked this far into its career (twenty-five years!), there will be some diminishing returns, but for the most part Thrice knock this thing out of the park. It may not be the next
Vhesissu or
Artist In The Ambulance, but it never will be.
Horizons/West sees Thrice perfecting their post-hiatus formula, beefing up the intensity at times, and most importantly just writing incredibly strong, moving, and memorable music. That's all we can ask for from Thrice in 2025, and fortunately for us, it's exactly what we get.
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