Album Review

The Thermals
The Body, The Blood, The Machine
(Sub Pop, 2006)

Sometimes it's hard to explain why something works. On paper, The Thermals' The Body, The Blood, The Machine sounded like it was bound to fail. The Sub Pop website states that "the lyrics envision a United States governed by a fascist Christian state," and the idea of a (Sub)pop-punk concept album about dystopia had me cringing, fearing obvious, overwrought melodrama.
As it turns out, the album's bald-faced ambition is one of its strongest assets. In a market dominated by cynicism, it's refreshing and invigorating to hear a band take on such a daunting topic so damn earnestly. And despite my misgivings, the Thermals' catchy, anthemic brand of post-millennial punk is the perfect vehicle for addressing fanaticism - it's aggressive, passionate, and absolutely charismatic. And though they do make some obviously ironic statements (ie "we're so pure, yeah we're so pure"), they focus more on specific characters affected by their environment than broad, sweeping statements about the tyranny of a Church State. Most of the songs focus on the theme of escape and are told from the point of view of common people marginalized by the fascist regime. But even these characters seem to believe in the God they are fleeing, and this adds a layer of complexity to the narratives. In "Returning to the Fold," lead singer Hutch Harris sings, "maybe when I die/ I will die escaping / I will die returning to the fold." The conflicting desires to escape the regime and to return to the safety of a community are much more human and engaging than simple anti-Christian propaganda. Harris clearly read 1984 closely enough to realize that the most frightening thing about Big Brother is not that he can kill you, but that he can win you over - he can force you to love the hand that controls you.
But despair isn't the only mood of the album; the anthemic earnestness also allows for some surprisingly effective hopeful moments. "St. Rosa and the Swallows" references the San Juan Capistrano, a mission church in California that is inhabited by swallows that flock to it every year on St. Joseph's day. The narrator of the song pictures himself flying with the swallows, a simple but effective image of an escape to sanctuary. The more extreme "Back to the Sea" is probably the most straightforward song on the album, a pounding devolution anthem:

Two by two
Lord we'll take them two by two

We'll lead them through the pouring rain

We'll lead them to the gas chamber

But not me

I'm gonna crawl...

Back to the sea!

This song is sequenced perfectly; after seven songs of conflicting emotions, the conviction of the narrator to abandon humanity altogether seems all the more extreme.

And then there's the sound of the album. The guitars crunch and bite, as would be expected, but there is also a surprising full-blooded depth to them that makes the album thrilling to play at top volume. There are also some minor embellishments, such as the racing synth line in "A Pillar of Salt," that add to the album's compulsive catchiness. And, most importantly, Harris and company keep it short, never letting the songs drag on any longer than necessary and giving the whole thing the feel of being constantly on the run. It's not until the closer, the apocalyptic "I Hold the Sound," that the Thermals engage in any kind of detour - finishing off the album with a wave of distortion and feedback. But even this doesn't drag on too long, just barely giving the listener enough time to catch his breath before hitting "repeat."

Rating: Excellent (8)

MP3: A Pillar Of Salt

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