Though some have described them as a supergroup from the Portland, Oregon scene, none of the members of The Thermals are likely to be too familiar to people outside the US. Or indeed Oregon.
For the record though, the band comprises guitarist/vocalist Hutch Harris and bassist Kathy Foster, who play as a duo called (wait for it) Hutch And Kathy, guitarist Ben Barnett (who has left since the recording of this album) from Kind Of Like Spitting and drummer Jordan Hudson of Operacycle. No, me neither.
Whatever, The Thermals together make a fuzzed-up, lo-fi racket that is prime cannon fodder for the legendary Sub Pop label. This is no lame thrashathon though, despite clocking in at just under 28 minutes. The like of 'No Culture Icons', with its insistent chorus of "Hardly art, hardly garbage", and the rollicking 'My Little Machine' have keen pop melodies buried amongst the scuzz.
And on the out-and-out rockers like 'Goddamn The Light' and 'Out Of The Old And Thin', drums crash and guitars flail around and around in a tight, exciting whirl around Harris' vocals. There are also a dozen or more great vocal lines to be pulled out of the distortion, including 'Break And Break''s exhortation to "Stuff your senses into the back of your jeans" and 'I Know The Pattern''s frankly bizarre but memorable "Replace the wires on your face lifted sky".
There are also a few manifestos-in-waiting, such as when Harris pleads that "I don't wanna feel the same" against the pounding drums of 'Overgrown, Overblown'. And his cry of "Get f*ckin' ready" on 'Brace And Break' is easily as insouciantly cool as anything to have come from the mouth of Julian Casablancas.
But while there is much to be said for the concise nature of the tracks, which mostly cram a few verses and a hooky chorus into less than two minutes, a couple of tracks are pretty forgettable. 'A Passing Feeling' is a prime example, the title aptly summing up the directionless nature of the song.
Yet though the music may not win any originality awards - Sebadoh and Guided By Voices spring instantly to mind as precursors - there is a refreshing lack of pretension throughout. There is no room for indulgence on these 13 tracks. Directness is the key, although this occasionally makes it something of a one-dimensional listen. But overall this is a spirited and sometimes thrilling debut and one that should see The Thermals make a more global impact than any of their other bands.
