Review: Thrice - Major/Minor

 With a overall laid back punk rock which sometimes verges onto hardcore but reaches normally onto a traditional rock and roll and emo sound, there's much that makes Major/Minor, the seventh album from California rockers Thrice an impressive and beautiful listen.

 A wonderful quality of the album is that though the songs share similar ideals and personalities, no two sound the same. Major/Minor is certainly an angry album, but the anger is much more subtle and in depth, and full attention has to be paid for listeners to truly connect with it, so they are not dismissed as a whiny emo band. The anger is subtle as the album remains largely laid back, which gives a refreshing and engaging feel overall, the grunge inspired punk riffs the band emit throughout are very pleasant and generally cool sounding, something that is demonstrated right from opener, Yellow Belly which in spite of it's laid back sound is bursting with attitude and anger. And while this quality is prominent, it's presented in a different way throughout, such as in the grungier Promises which feels reminiscent of Soundgarden or the funk rock vibe found in Cataracts which carries more of an air of the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

 Other moments of the album are much more chilling and dramatic, such as mellow melancholic alt rock sound of Trading Paper or the harder hitting Call It in the Air which is simply packed with raw emotion. Overall, a dwindling emo sound is ever present on tracks like Listen Through Me or Disarmed.

 The overall effect on the album is to use these elements in a manner that is atmospheric and creating a serene soundscape which is overall very pretty.

 So the pleasance that Thrice offer in Major/Minor is something that must be admired while listening as listeners can identify the drama and negative emotion that is unleashed in this album, but still marvel at the overall beauty of the music. On the whole, it's very dreamy.

 Thrice's Major/Minor is out now via Vagrant Records