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Reviews 7 Approval 100%
Soundoffs 26 Album Ratings 444 Objectivity 67%
Last Active 04-02-13 8:02 am Joined 05-17-11
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| Thursday Retrospective
I wrote a full ass essay on this band over on my blog. These are just small snippets covering the individual releases. I especially go into much more detail on No Devolucion in the full blog. Can't be bothered with the character limit in these boxes anymore. You can read it here if you want
https://thisworldisablackhole.blog/post/739912114857263104/a-personal-retrospective-of-the-band-thursday | 1 | | Thursday Waiting
Debut record Waiting, while often disregarded as a throw-away non canon event in their discography, was a very necessary step in their trajectory that still holds up with some solid chops of more midwest flavoured emotional rock. There are many moments on this album where I feel like I’m listening to a heavier b-side off of Sunny Day Real Estate’s Diary. It also features a song named after Ian Curtis, which Geoff would go on to cite as one of his biggest influences, and the sounds of Joy Division would only become more apparent further into the bands evolution. | 2 | | Thursday Full Collapse
Waiting would put the band on stage and establish them as more than just facilitators and attendees of live music, but sophomore LP Full Collapse - released in 2001 - would be the sounding board antenna that would launch them into the airwaves forever. Full Collapse was the sound of a much more confident, energetic, and self realized band that knew exactly how to craft a formula to get a crowd moving. It’s clear from the live reaction during the same year of release that it was an instant hit in the underground circuit. Full of scream-your-heart-out lyrics and volatile breakdowns weaved together by brooding emotional passages that will have you rocking back and forth with your eyes closed just to take it all in. Literally not a single weak song on this album and I will take that sentiment to my grave. | 3 | | Thursday War All the Time
2003’s War All The Time would offer a more angry, politically charged take on what they had achieved in 2001 with Full Collapse. I don’t want to gloss over this record, as it had some insanely good cuts on it (my favourite probably being Signals Over The Air), but with the exception of some added synths, it did little to push the bands sound forward. This record was written in just a couple months, and you can feel it. Despite that it was still a competent follow up to their sophomore that kept fans engaged and even earned them a few spots on late night television. They would do one infamous performance of the title track on Conan O'Brien in 2003 where Geoff was apparently so strung out and suffering withdrawals that he could barely see the crowd past the blinding lights. Somehow he still hit every note with ease, the band was a well oiled machine at this point. | 4 | | Thursday A City By the Light Divided
It wouldn’t be until A City By The Light Divided release in 2006 that we would hear a marked shift in their sound. Unlike the album prior, Thursday took their sweet time with this one. This was the record they always wanted to make. The opening track makes it adamantly clear within the first few moments that Thursday have stepped up their game and begun to integrate more of a moodier post punk influence into their sound. The production is slick, the bass is grooving, and atmospheric synths come in to enrich the foundation of melody. Geoff also rolls up his sleeves here and proves that years of touring and honing his craft as a singer was not in vain. The fantastic mixing and vocal layering deserves some credit here as well, but his voice just sounds smoother and more controlled. If Understanding In A Car Crash was the sound of a band picking up the pieces of broken glass, The Other Side Of The Crash is the sound of a band that has fully processed their lived experiences and moved on. | 5 | | Thursday/Envy Thursday/Envy
Two years after the release of A City By The Light Divided, Thursday would release a split in 2008 with the cult classic Japanese post-rock screamo band Envy. This split might have actually been one of my first encounters with the band, but I was a full blown skramz head at the time and approached it as an Envy fan first, thus glossing over Thursday’s side of the split. Once again, this band was perfectly teed up for me - dangled in front of my face like a carrot begging to be chased - but I botched the swing. It’s a shame, because As He Climbed the Dark Mountain is one of the tastiest tracks they ever wrote. So good in fact that they would take it from this split and implant it into their next full length record. They took everything they learned from their previous album and funneled it into creating a dark and angsty track that still has an insanely catchy chorus. | 6 | | Thursday Common Existence
Queue Common Existence in 2009, maybe Thursday’s most challenging and under appreciated release. This album isn’t challenging because they pushed the boundaries of experimentation in their sound, but the exact opposite. Despite working with the same producer as they did on ACBTLD, Common Existence sees the band taking an evolutionary step backwards to create a more aggressive, straight forward punk album. I feel like Common Existence shared the same plight of War All The Time: it was a solid entry in the bands catalog, and that’s all. It was a fair play by the band though, as this was their first album back on an independent label that didn’t feel the need to control or influence the groups output. Thursday just wanted to write some new songs that they could have fun playing in front of a crowd. | 7 | | Thursday No Devolucion
On their monumental final recording No Devolución, we would see the band finally continuing the progression of their sound that was more clearly drawn out on 2006’s A City by the Light Divided. It was an epic swan dive off the deep end into much darker, dense and atmospheric territory. The slick production and electronic post punk inspired soundscapes on ACBTLD would be cranked up to new heights, shedding tears over the illuminated grid of a city skyline at night. This record is really special to me, every time I hear it I’m just astonished at how Thursday was able to catapult their sound in a new direction and create one of the most dynamic records of their career, while still firmly grasping the emotional weight and hardcore ethos of their earlier work. Tracks like A Darker Forest and Empty Glass have moved me to the verge of tears more times than I can count. While tracks like Past and Future Ruins and Turnpike Divides remind the listener that Thursday never lost their edge. | |
artificialbox
01.20.24 | My personal ranking (not counting the split) is probably
7 > 2 > 4 > 3 > 1 > 6
I don’t expect anyone to read the full blog post (link in description), it was mostly just written as a way to practice writing again after not utilizing critical thought for at least a decade. But this band rules and I wanted to celebrate their career in a small way. | mryrtmrnfoxxxy
01.20.24 | oh hell yeah buddy. great band. really cool that you included the split. ill read the blog tonight. it's been a bit but 4,6,2 were my top 3 | Colton
01.20.24 | it’s saturday | SomeCallMeTim
01.20.24 | love this band! debating catching them on their War All The Time tour. I saw them once a few years back with Basement and that was a great show. Also love seeing someone rate 4 moderately high, that one meant a lot to me in high school and even today I see it as the same quality song writing with loads more creativity. The closing track might be their best song | bc013
01.20.24 | Considering the number of bands that have recently returned to the music industry, I've always wanted Thursday to embark on writing and releasing a new album as well. However, No Devolucion was the perfect album to end on so I'd feel conflicted if they returned with something that didn't match or exceed the quality of that album.
My rank almost matches yours... 7 > 2 > 4 > 3 > 6 > 1 | SomeCallMeTim
01.20.24 | Stay True might be the best catalogue-closing song by any band ever, except maybe Runeii by Talk Talk | onionbubs
01.20.24 | geoff says they try writing here and there but they havent really felt anythings been good enough so hes not sure if itll happen. sounds like its not worth it for them unless they really believe in the material
would love for them to tour beyond just the old stuff tho, much as i understand what sells. no dev and common existence >> | artificialbox
01.20.24 | I would be stoked if they announced a new album but it would be scary. No Devolucion is like the ideal career closing album. Not sure if any other band has gone out on such a high like that. At the same time I think they are fully capable of writing some good tunes given some of the members current projects which are fantastic.
also yeah I would die for a tour of just No Devolution and ACBTLD stuff, maybe play the songs from the Envy split too. That would be so dope. | onionbubs
01.20.24 | doesnt even have to be exclusively that stuff, just more than like 1 song per album lol
thankful to have seen turnpike divides at least tho. magical song | SomeCallMeTim
01.20.24 | dug up the setlist from the time I caught them, damn near perfect setlist:
https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/thursday/2017/house-of-blues-boston-ma-7bf95218.html | onionbubs
01.20.24 | yeah i caught beyond the visible spectrum once and it absolutely blew me away, i think also in 2017 lol | artificialbox
01.20.24 | damn that set list does rule. closing out the encore with Turnpike Divides is massive.
Probably the biggest regret of my life is not going to see them when they were on tour with Hail the Sun in 2022. They played my city on a tuesday night and I had to get up at 3:30 am on wednesday for work. Shoulda just quit my job. | grannypantys
01.20.24 | interesting read. could never get into full collapse so I mostly ignored the band.
Now jamming 4, it is surprisingly good | artificialbox
01.20.24 | Glad you're enjoying it! I was really surprised by it as well. I thought it was going to be a kind of phoned in mid-career slump album but it ended up firing on all cylinders from the jump. I watched some interviews from the time of recording, and based on the way the band talks about it you can tell they put a lot of passion and creative care into the writing process.. | TheSupernatural
01.23.24 | They're still touring sporadically, probably 30-60 shows a year. Crazy that it's been 13 years since No Devolucion and they haven't put out anything since. | artificialbox
01.24.24 | they are playing Seattle in two weeks with Many Eyes and Rival Schools and I was gonna get a ticket but forgot that my passport is expired. fml | bellovddd
01.24.24 | No Devolucion really is something | ConcubinaryCode
01.24.24 | I read this a few days ago but forgot to commend you for the write up! Good job. | ConcubinaryCode
01.24.24 | Oh damn, if we spilling live sets I saw him open for sparta and he played an acoustic version of this side of brightness and for the workforce drowning. | artificialbox
01.24.24 | Thanks man I appreciate it! That also sounds like a magical night. | SomeCallMeTim
01.24.24 | An accoustic version of one of their heaviest songs is interesting, dang | El Olam
01.24.24 | Was just listening to these guys great band. Could be wrong but I'm pretty sure No Devolucion was written in even less time than WATT, and is arguably their best album | gravityswitch
01.24.24 | Common Existence is still my favourite, followed by No Devolucion | artificialbox
01.24.24 | you could be right about that Olam. From what I know it was mostly all written on the spot in the studio, albeit over the span of multiple sessions, sometimes with a few weeks of breaks in between. But if you condense all that time actually spent writing it’s probably quite short.
Also I haven’t given up on Common Existence yet. It’s my least favourite at the moment but it’s still damn good and I’m determined to keep jamming it until it’s colours show. | SomeCallMeTim
01.24.24 | Yeah I remember reading closer to the time of the No Devolucion's release it was written in the studio in about 3 days. Just wild
My biggest issue with Common Existence is that the version of As He Climbed The Dark Mountain from the Thursday/Envy split is faaaar superior |
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