The Thermals
Desperate Ground
Saddle Creek
Street: 04.16
The Thermals = The Pixies + an angrier Arctic Monkeys
Clearly, it doesn’t require a lot of thought to conclude how The Thermals’ long-term survival can be attributed to the singer’s lo-fi punk-saddled rhetoric. Things have been pissing in Hutch Harris’ Cheerios since 2002. Now, his current flavor of the week is relationship drama. In Desperate Ground, Harris sets aside his religious and political stressors to momentarily go berserk over the subject of love. Stylistically, Desperate Ground doesn’t sit too far from previous releases––which isn’t necessarily a demerit. Whereas other current indie artists weakly coo and moan about love, Harris shouts at it as if it owed him two months worth of rent. And, per tradition, bassist Kathy Foster supplies an essential and driving backbone to the tracks. The entire album clocks under 30 minutes—­­­­­so if it does disappoint, you’ll only be short a lunch break. (Kilby Court: 05.10)