thethrills-teenager music reviews Virgin Media
Dublin band return with yet more wistful Americana
The Thrills’ trademark sound – tight guitars, vocal harmonies, the kind of big, keyboard-washed soundscapes you’d expect to hear pumping from a Winnebago laden down with surfboards and Bermuda short-wearing teenagers – owes more to their influences than their environment. Their past albums have seen them namechecking the Beach Boys and Neil Young as influences and here on Teenager, they opt for a bigger, more Eighties sound.
Conor Deasy’s voice still wobbles somewhere between reedy and whiney, and the band have clearly been taking more advice on how to place mandolins and banjos even higher in the mix. However, the cues taken from the likes of Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty and even newcomers like Ben Kweller are evident here – particularly on tracks This Year and Nothing Changes Round Here. Teenager showcases a much bigger sound for the band, while sticking loosely to the same popular template. Not bad at all.
More to try:
Ben Kweller: Ben Kweller
Bruce Springsteen: Darkness At The Edge Of Town
