Artist: Thursday
Album: Common Existence
Label: Epitaph
Purchase: SmartPunk
Release Date: February 17th, 2009
Overall: 9
Music: 9
Lyrics: 8.5
Production: 8
Thursday is the kind of band that was a front-runner in the scene for the longest time, constantly churning out genre defining albums that one would have assumed would make them a household name. While they received positive reception by everyone across the board, and amassed a devout following of people, Thursday was one of those bands that were constantly on the verge of breaking big while just not sky-rocketing to the heights people expected of them. So around May 2007, they dropped all touring plans and left their label in search of something more. After one sort of live album, Kill The House Lights Thursday are back in full force, with a new record label (Epitaph) and a new record, Common Existence.
“Resuscitations of a Dead Man” pounds right through the beginning of Common Existence, with wails of urgency courtesy of Geoff Rickely this song sets the tone for the entire release. Echoes of urgency, danger and intensity throughout makes this a great introductory track.
Something Thursday have mastered, almost to the point where it is an art form is the scream. A well placed scream can be everything for a track, it can propel the intensity from a two to a ten in a matter of seconds. Songs such as “Circuits of Fever”, with it’s ambient vocals followed by slightly muffled scream, along with some of the best instrumentals on Common Existence, make this track stand out. This is easily one of the best examples of a well-placed scream in music today.
Another great example of Thursday’s musical prominence, is the powerful, acoustic song “Time’s Arrow” which is held up with powerful lyrics and strong production, which make it a moving track. This shows that Thursday are just as skillful at slowing is down, as they are at turning it up that extra notch (see: “Unintended Long Term Effects”)
Common Existence is a remarkable tour-de-force of powerful lyrics, clever instrumentation and devotion for music. Each track echoes with meaning, passion and catchiness. Whether it be the dark screams in “You Were The Cancer”, or the light “ooo’s” of “Circuits of Fever” that catapult this album into a league of it’s own and push Thursday into becoming even more prolific then they already are.
Track Listing
1. Resuscitation Of A Dead Man
2. Last Call
3. As He Climbed The Dark Mountain
4. Friends In The Armed Forces
5. Beyond The Visible Spectrum
6. Time’s Arrow
7. Unintended Long Term Effects
8. Circuits Of Fever
9. Subway Funeral
10. Love Has Led Us Astray
11. You Were The Cancer