Veteran rock band Thrice has yet to release a subpar album over the course of a career that has included ambitious masterpieces such as the poetic and elemental “The Alchemy Index” and the raw “Beggars.” Thrice’s new album, “Major/Minor,” is the band’s best album since “The Alchemy Index” and is a promising start to the fall music season.
“Major/Minor” starts off with a rough reminder of why fans love Thrice in the first place. “Yellow Belly” is a gritty song, filled with frustration and anger. Lead vocalist and lyricist Dustin Kensrue’s voice is on point, and after the song ends, any trepidation listeners felt before beginning the album has been eviscerated.
Over the course of the 11 tracks, Thrice paints a picture of frustration, decline, fatalism and the fighting against the inevitable ““ a thought-provoking theme which flows gracefully and powerfully throughout the entire album, resulting in a set of songs gifted with more than a few jewels.
“Promises” begins with an outstanding electric guitar riff before Kensrue enters with lyrics about the fragility of promises and people’s inability to recognize their own moral decline: “Our word is so faint and feeble.”
A few songs later comes “Call It in the Air,” a reminder that Kensrue is one of the best lyricists of the past decade. It begins as a down-tempo track before rumbling drums drive it up to a full-bodied rock song. Kensrue sings of life’s inevitable decline and the watershed choices one must make: “Your life is a coin in the air / It will come down / It will come down somewhere.”
Next is “Treading Paper,” a heart-wrenching song about questioning life’s purpose: “If anything means anything / There must be something meant for us to be.”
Following that song is “Blur,” an aptly titled song about a man’s inability to keep up with the world around him. At first, the song feels a bit overly chaotic, but once the theme of the track becomes clear, it is easier to accept the frantic instrumentals and slightly off-kilter rhythms as a reflection of the song’s lyrics. Still, the song leaves a little bit to be desired.
Luckily, the next song on “Major/Minor” is the best on the album. “Words in the Water” is an epic narrative song that tells the story of a drowning man who finds solace in the literary beauty of a book floating nearby. Clocking in at about six and a half minutes, the song is definitely the most ambitious on the album and is slightly reminiscent of the unparalleled songwriting in “The Alchemy Index.”
“Anthology” is the penultimate and most positive song on the CD. Lyrics and vocals once again shine in this song about love: “While the North wind was taking its toll / You have helped me to find my way back and to anchor my soul.”
When the final song on the record, “Disarmed,” builds to a majestic instrumental finale in yet another example of Thrice’s mastery of dynamics, the listener can’t help but be sad “Major/Minor” is over. Meticulously executed, complex and extremely well-written, the album deserves to hold a prominent place in anyone’s music library.