9/3/10

The Thermals | A Review of Personal Life

In terms of Punk music The Thermals have set the bar for anyone thinking of making an attempt at the now 30+ year old genre of music. What this Portland, Oregon based band established with its previous four albums are among the best of what punk should be today when comes to style and content. You can’t go back in time and be the Sex Pistols or The Ramones and there is no point in attempting to pop punk band because Sum 41 and Blink 182 sucked the life out of that version of punk all together. No, what’s left for punk is exactly what The Thermals are doing, making it sound gritty but tight as all get out.
The new album Personal Life is short and to the point but it leaves a lasting impression. The tracks I’m Gonna Change Your Life and I Don’t Believe You set the tone for the rest of Personal Life with their solid guitar and vocal portions. In terms of content Personal life is a more abstract album in comparison to say, The Body, The Blood, The Machine which had some heavy biblical references mixed with a generous helping of anti-establishment sentiment. Nonetheless, this album is still very good and should be picked up.

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