The Thermals – The Lexington, London 09/02/09

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Tonight, Portland, Oregan’s finest, The Thermals are back and touring their 4th and possibly best album so far ‘Now We Can See’. Playing with smiles broadly across their faces they motor through virtually their entire back catalogue of sonic three and four chord punk-pop wonders all crammed into a 50 minute set in a rather lovely whiskey bar located in the heart of Angel.

Kicking the set off with the raucous ‘Returning to the Fold’, the crowd is already in check and fully behind them. I mean REALLY behind them. It’s crazy. They get even more enthusiastic when firm fan favourites ‘How We Know’ and ‘I Called Out Your Name’ are dropped in tandem which gives the audience an excuse to get wild. It’s not hard to see why. Every song fires hook after hook with such precision and instant appeal, combining The Shin’s sun-kissed feel good vibes with grin-inducing choruses but with a slightly crunchier after taste. Later they lay down a grim warning of the shape of things to come. ‘Here’s Your Future’ lead singer/guitarist Hutch Harris declares “Bend your knees/bow your heads/save your babies/here’s your future,” as a sharp, piercing guitar line and a bare kick and snare beat open into a scorching wall of sound.

They stir emotions in the way all great guitar-rock does, and songs like ‘Now We Can See’ and ‘No Culture Icons’ would sound just a fitting whether played in a sweaty dingy club night or in popular teen dramas such as the wonderful Dawson’s Creek, The Hills or the O.C. No Really. Anyway, don’t get too comfortable. It get’s a little grittier and darker when they lay down a splendid Nirvana cover of ‘Sappy / Verse Chorus Verse’ a heavy grunge romp about religious fandom and doomed relationships in which Hutch channels the spirit of Cobain’s snarl and delivery. It’s pretty impressive, even though most people are oblivious to it. Nevermind. Those same people are left content after they aptly end on the rather lovely ‘Pillar of Salt, a song about daring to escape. The crowd are buzzing as they peter out. A good night all around. Oh apart from the one smug cretin who felt he needed to advertise to the whole world – “Oh the Water Rats gig was much better…”.

Good for you mate. Good for you…

Setlist:
Returning to the Fold
A Passing Feeling
Back to Gray
When I Was Afraid
How We Know
I Called Out Your Name
I Hold the Sound
We Were Sick
St. Rosa and the Swallows
Test Pattern
How We Fade
Here’s Your Future
Now We Can See
No Culture Icons
Goddamn the Light
Sappy (Nirvana cover)
You Dissolve
A Pillar of Salt

The Thermals on MySpace