Review by Tracy Galarza
There is very little that made me happier than when Thrice announced their hiatus was over. But then they went ahead and started working on their ninth studio album and routing a US tour and I was left wondering what the hell I was supposed to do with myself until May 27th. Admittedly, I was a bit nervous about what to expect with To Be Everywhere Is To Be Nowhere, after all the guys had been gone for almost 5 years. Luckily for us they picked up right where they left off.
TBEITBN starts slow then breaks out into anthem-like guitar tones in “Hurricane” and features a raspier side to frontman Dustin Kensrue’s vocals that I had yet to hear. Even still, his voice is packing more soul and emotion than ever before and it pairs perfectly with what the guys are doing sonically. “The Window” gives us shakers and guitar grooves so cool I can’t even stand it. “Wake Up” sounds like it could have fit excellently on Beggars. That bit of Blues they added in is glorious. “The Long Defeat” comes in strong with Riley Breckenridge’s drumming and brother Eddie’s bass work filling it all out. Also, let’s take a moment to appreciate Kensrue’s vocal delivery here. Wow. There isn’t anything I don’t like about “Salt and Shadow.” The song is hauntingly beautiful and still has this lingering feeling of hope that quite honestly just fucked me up fam. Lyrically, TBEITBN contains broader themes than we had heard from the band in the past. From war, to America’s foreign policies, to our current state of humanity greed, they’re all here though it’s pretty underwhelming.
Arguably, the most distinct feature of TBEITBN is Kensrue’s vocal delivery. Because sonically, TBEITBN is the culmination of every record in Thrice’s impressive discography. This shouldn’t disappoint us because it’s not at all a bad thing. Since the band’s inception, fans have been spoiled with genre defying records literally one right after another, that another record in the same vein as Beggars or Major/Minor almost feels generic. If anything, it perfectly picks up where Major/Minor left off.
Overall, I feel the record is a progressive modern take on classic Thrice. It’s nostalgic and new at the same time. Though TBEITBN doesn’t bring anything new to Thrice’s table, it is a seemingly effortless record and a really solid one at that.
Rating: 4.5/5
Listen to: “The Long Defeat” and “Salt and Shadow”
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