The Thermals – Fuckin A

Sometimes music doesn’t have to be inventive or innovative. Sometimes rock doesn’t have to push the envelope or take on a sound all of its own. Sometimes a band can go back to a tried-and-true style of simple chords, up-tempo beats, and catchy hooks. Most of those that try this route come across as tepid bar-bands, playing their brand of washed-out rock to beer-swigging masses of 20 or so. But then there’s the Thermals, who play up-tempo rock with so much fun and enthusiasm that can’t be faked, can’t be taught, just has to be heard. The album title says it all: Fuckin A indeed.

The Portland, Oregon trio of Hutch Harris, Kathy Foster, and Jordan Hudson has already released a full-length album and an EP since forming in late 2002, and Fuckin A is a worthy follow-up to More Parts Per Million. Without losing that album’s pure lo-fi garage-rock sound, Fuckin A has Death Cab for Cutie’s Chris Walla doing most of the production work and giving greater production values to the trio without losing the band’s lo-fi – or ‘no-fi’ as the band members themselves dubbed it – approach. There’s still a few chords, short and energetic songs (the 12-song album is 28 minutes long), and the energetic enthusiasm. Did the band mature on its third release? Perhaps, but you wouldn’t know it, and you wouldn’t care.

The initial blast of distortion and punk-rock beat on the catchy “Our Trip,” harks to Sonic Youth at times, but when the guitar kicks in, it’s pure punk-rock energy, with even a shouted “Hey!” here and there for good measure. Harris has a unique voice, and it works especially well as he belts out lyrics like “today was fine, so don’t remind me!” on “Every Stitch.” Think classic Iggy and the Stooges on “When You’re Thrown,” and “God and Country” is pure punk all the way, fast and furious and still catchy and fun. Try not to sing along when Harris sings “one, two, three, forward!” on “Forward,” about as catchy as this band gets. And at only a minute, “Top of the Earth” is a blast of pure energy.

The band is just so good on the more mid-tempo (by comparison) “How We Know” that it’s easily a standout track. Another standout is the brilliant “A Stare Like This.” “You open your eyes and stare into mine / A stare like yours is hard to find / it’s ultraviolet,” Harris sings, biting the lyrics out with a kind of bitterness that’s unheard on the other tracks. Because of its march-like rhythm, “Keep Time” feels more intense than some of the other tracks here, and it’s quite powerful.

It’s hard not to like The Thermals, and Fuckin A, while maybe a bit less lo-fi than its predecessor, is a stellar album. It’s fast, energetic, and full of enthusiasm. You can just tell the band is having a great time making these songs, and the musicians (members of bands like All Girl Summer Fun Band and Operacycle) are so talented that they can’t go wrong. No, it’s not the most unique album in the world, but fuckin A is this good!