A Beginners Guide to...
THRICE
Thrice is a band of many musical styles - from their "thrash pop punk" beginnings, to their more recent explorations of electronic music and folky acoustic styles - that started in California in the late 90s. The band is comprised of singer/guitarist Dustin Kensrue, guitarist Teppei Teranishi, and brothers Ed and Riley Breckenridge on bass and drums respectively. As teenagers, the band released their first EP
First Impressions in 1998. To say this was "rough" is an understatement. The band began as basically a byproduct of their location, the pop-punk style of bands on the Epitaph and Fat Wreck Chords labels - but they incorporated fast thrash metal riffing and hardcore screaming into their brand of pop-punk.
While
First Impressions was rough, inexperienced, and largely forgettable - the band refined their sound on their first proper album
Identity Crisis in 2001. Now sounding like a tighter, more professional band, they began to gain a cult following and some press. In 2002 Thrice released the followup
The Illusion of Safety. This was a landmark album for the band, as they kept the basic ideas of Identity Crisis - but also began to experiment with various time signatures and song structures. This album received alot of praise among people in their music scene, which led to Thrice being signed to Island and releasing their major label debut,
The Artist in the Ambulance in 2003. The album was yet another progression for the band, as they developed a knack for writing fantastic hooks while building upon the best elements of their sound. The album featured the singles "All That's Left" and "Stare at the Sun" which were thrown into regular rotation on rock radio and MTV 2.
After
The Artist in the Ambulance, Thrice began talking frequently about a change in sound. Influences ranged from such diverse sources as heavy bands like Isis and Pelican to Radiohead's
Kid A and Deftones'
White Pony. It was rumored that when the label asked what the album sounded like, Dustin handed them a copy of Talk Talk's
Laughing Stock record. In 2005 the band released
Vheissu to loads of critical acclaim. The album was fantastic, and a huge departure for the band, as they began to incorporate piano, electronics, and music boxes into their now distinct sound.
Vheissu, for all its critical acclaim, was not a mainstream success, and the band was dropped from Island.
For the followup to
Vheissu, Thrice declared they were releasing a concept record called
The Alchemy Index. Released on Vagrant Records in two parts in 2007 and 2008, the album contained 4 separate volumes:
Fire,
Water,
Air, and
Earth, each based around an element of the bands sound. The
Fire disc contained their heaviest work to date, with the band using baritone guitars for the first time. The
Water portion was a mostly electronic based project, and contains arguably the band's best and most beautiful work.
Earth was a stripped down, mostly acoustic and piano based record. The
Air volume explores a few different styles, but the songs all have a delicate, floating sort of feel to them.
Thrice have had a long and varied musical career, and I feel they are the most overlooked band around right now - which is why I've made this mix a priority. Due to their initial association with "the scene" which eventually birthed things like My Chemical Romance and Fall Out Boy, they often get pigeonholed. While they may have toured with bands like those, and at earlier times sounded like they fit into that scene - they have progressed so far beyond it at this point. This mix serves as a guide to all aspects of the band - but is mainly focused around the past few albums, as even the band themselves has said they are somewhat embarrassed by their early days. Originally I had planned to put these in chronological order, to show the progression, but I feel it works better as a random collection and shows the band's versatility. Hopefully some will give this band the chance they deserve, and I feel most people should be able to find at least one aspect of the band's sound they can enjoy, especially in the newer stuff. If you don't want to download the mix and are curious to listen to any
one track from the band, I'd recommend the beautiful "Red Sky" - and as always, any feedback is appreciated
A Beginner's Guide to Thrice
1. Like Moths to Flame (from
Vheissu)
2. The Whaler (from
Vol II: Water of
The Alchemy Index)
3. Stare At the Sun (from
The Artist in the Ambulance)
4. Broken Lungs (from
Vol III: Air of
The Alchemy Index)
5. Backdraft (from
Vol I: Fire of
The Alchemy Index)
6. Trust (from
The Illusion of Safety)
7. Lost Continent (from
Vol II: Water of
The Alchemy Index)
8. Moving Mountains (from
Vol IV: Earth of
The Alchemy Index)
9. The Flags of Dawn (b-side from the
Red Sky EP)
10. Under A Killing Moon (from
The Artist in the Ambulance)
11. Atlantic (from
Vheissu)
12. Digital Sea (from
Vol II: Water of
The Alchemy Index)
13. T & C (from
Identity Crisis)
14. Burn the Fleet (from
Vol I: Fire of
The Alchemy Index)
15. Daedalus (from
Vol III: Air of
The Alchemy Index)
16. For Miles (from
Vheissu)
17. Silhouette (from
The Artist in the Ambulance)
18. Deadbolt (from
The Illusion of Safety)
19. Come All You Weary (from
Vol IV: Earth of
The Alchemy Index)
20. Silver Wings (from
Vol III: Air of
The Alchemy Index)
21. Red Sky (from
Vheissu)
To those who were interested in my
"Essential Smashing Pumpkins" mix and my
"Beginner's Guide to Real Emo" those are coming next. The Pumpkins set will be two discs - each covering one of the main moods of the band's overall sound. I'm debating whether to split the Emo mix into two discs covering the 1st and 2nd wave, or trying to cram it into one.
I also apologize to those who are disinterested, and probably going to be consistently scrolling by these mixes - I just simply have alot of free time these days and love making mixes. Moderators, please let me know if I'm overdoing it too much and I'll cut back.