The Thermals - Now We Can See
Things felt a little shaky there for The Thermals in early 2008. They had toured on The Body, The Blood, The Machine for over a year and a half, they no longer had a drummer and were looking for a new label home. Yet, in reality all that paled in comparison to their toughest hurdle. Trying to write music that surpassed their landmark Bush-era concept record was going to be near impossible. TBTBTM combined everything great about The Thermals, political music and punk rock. By 2008 the political and social tides had begun to shift, and it looked likely a Senator named Barack Obama might be our next president. How would Hutch and Kathy translate this new landscape into an album?
Out of this situation, somewhere in a Portland studio, Now We Can See was birthed. From the lyrics of the album’s title track, (”Now that our vision is strong, we don’t need to admit we were wrong”) it’s clear Hutch still has a sharp tongue when it comes to public and political behavior. The album’s narrative comes from the POV of a newly deceased man and his journey through his new “life.” It references the TBTBTM era, and talks about how we’ve reacted to these changes. Hutch still doesn’t have much good to say about the national consciousness, but where TBTBTM was explicitly apocalyptic, Now We Can See cuts a more subtle argument.
One of the newest sounding songs, “At the Bottom of the Sea,” runs a two note bar chord that hints at the guitar line in “The End.” It’s pretty subtle but for some reason I just keep seeing Apocalypse Now playing during this song. “Now We Can See” is the standout single and combines the energy, quick delivery and interesting commentary that made me a Thermals fan in the beginning.
Grab the free track below and buy Now We Can See on Amazon.
[mp3] The Thermals - Now We Can See
Tags: The Thermals
