The Days of Lore

The Thermals get personal

Tuesday, September 7th, 2010 | musiX, pdX

Betcha didn’t see that headline coming. I admit I’ve had a bit of a crush on The Thermals for a few years … who in their right mind wouldn’t?

The trio’s latest platter Personal Life finds a poppy middle ground between 2004’s Fuckin A and Now We Can See, which was released just last year. There are still a couple of catchy “whoa oh whoa” songs, but the production is a little grimier thanks to Chris Walla, who coincidentally also produced Fuckin A. Bassist Kathy Foster wrote many of the songs this time around, which coincidentally pushes the bass to the front and allows guitarist Hutch Harris to lay off the power chords and add smaller brush-strokes of noise (listen to “Never Listen to Me” … no really, do not listen to what the song is telling you). Personal life is also the first record since Fuckin A to feature a drummer that isn’t Foster—Westin Glass steps in and ramps up the rhythm section into a lean, mean rock ‘n’ roll machine.

And in case you couldn’t tell from the title, this is not an album about the state of affairs at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., but rather the proven themes of love and relationships. In fact, most of the song-titles sound like they were pulled from one of those State of the Union-type conversations between two (three?) lovers. Stick around for the hidden track, “Mark Lore Has a Crush on The Thermals.”

“I Don’t Believe You” - The Thermals

Video for “I Don’t Believe You” feat. Sleater Kinney’s Carrie Brownstein

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Tags: Hutch Harris, Kathy Foster, Kill Rock Stars, MFNW, Personal Life, The Thermals, Westin Glass

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