I'm not the first to say this, but I have a very hard time listening to M/m because it takes me back to a time where the band's future was in doubt. "But Dustin always said ..." — I know, but enough bands have failed to reunite after leaving the door open.
I can understand this, as the guys announced the impending hiatus within months after I started regularly listening to them. But with three albums of new material now released, surely this is moot.
Picking the 30 best thrice songs is hard, these are my top 35 songs, I left out a bunch of classics, in no particular order Daedalus The whaler Circles Beggars Paper tigers (rerecorded) The window Long defeat The artists in the ambulance The melting point of wax Blood clots and black holes Kill me quickly Betrayal is a symptom Deadbolt (live) Lost continent Open water The messenger Words in the water Anthology A song for milly Michaelson (recorded and live reworked version ) Silver wings Moving mountains Between the end and where we lie Atlantic The earth will shake (live) Of dust and nations Red sky Music box For miles Phoenix ignition Ultra blue T &c Beyond the pines Scavengers Salt and shadow Promises I hope someday they play two different setlists back to back nights in the same city, they have such a amazing discography, a single 90 min setlist doesn't do it justice
You would think. It just takes me back to that time and place, even if I'm no longer worried about their future. It's the same thing when I overhear "Hey There Delilah." The worst job I ever had played that song on loop throughout the office building, and every time I've heard it in the 18 years since, I go right back to those miserable hallways that I haven't walked through since 2007.
Here is my half-hearted attempt at a top 20: For Miles Of Dust and Nations Daedalus Circles Beyond the Pines The Abolition of Man Melting Point of Wax Deadbolt The Whaler Firebreather The Window Black Honey Music Box Wood and Wire At the Last Red Telephone The Arsonist Dead Wake Still Life Beltsville
Circles For Miles Of Dust and Nations The Arsonist Firebreather The Melting Point of Wax Blinded The Whaler Black Honey In Years to Come Blood on Blood Hurricane Like Moths to Flame The Weight Summer Set Fire to the Rain Wood and Wire Red Sky Death from Above Just Breathe Silhouette
Fine I’ll go (in no particular order): beyond the pines Cold cash and colder hearts The earth will shake Circles Dandelion wine the long defeat Red sky The whaler Paper tigers Words in the water Still life Beggars Like moths to flame Anthology Kill me quickly Hurricane Daedalus To awake and avenge the dead For miles Salt and shadow This could very easily change any given day
I don't know what it is, but Beggers just never clicked for me. To Be Everything is To Be Nowhere has honestly stuck with me the most of any of their albums since Vheissu. But I need to go through discography again...
To Be Everywhere is such a strange album for me. exactly half of it is A+ banner Thrice cuts for me and the other half I'd be happy never hearing again. it almost alternates between the two song to song too which is even wilder lmao
Beggars is top tier. I always liked it, but it has worked its way to the top and solidified there. Just an incredibly strong tight album.
Beggars is far and away my favorite album from them. Vheissu is 2nd but the gap is so wide between 1 and 2.
I’m a weirdo Palms apologist, to me it feels like it vibes with the through line of Vhiessu and Alchemy into Beggars. Dustin’s deconstructionist themes resonated heavily with me. I was so glad they were back with To Be Everything and liked that album but Palms just hit me right and I knew they were Back with a capital B. It’s in my top half of their discography.
This is how I feel about Beggars - it clicked but not in the way other albums have. I was super into all their experimental stuff on the Alchemy EPs and when I heard that dirty raw one note bass intro to 'All The World Is Mad' I was supremely disappointed at the new direction lol. It's since grown on me - In Exile, Wood & Wire, The Great Exchange are all some of my favorite Thrice songs. But it never blew me away on the first or any subsequent listens.
Sorry, but I just can't trust anyone who doesn't love that intro to "All the World Is Mad". I still get the same giddy feeling as the first time I heard it.
I obviously like it now but I didn't immediately love it. My whole mindset was "How could they go from the airy time signatures of Daedalus, the beautiful soundscapes of the Water EP, the aggression of the Fire songs to this single note?" it was a bad take then because I wanted more experimental stuff like the Alchemy Index. But this band has never done the same album twice and they're better for it.
Why is Alliance not being used for this? Wasn't that one of the main purposes of creating it: to keep us updated during these time periods?