Thrice -- The Artist in the Ambulance

7/10

When Thrice hit the early 00's hard rock scene (or whatever their scene was), I listened to some songs and made an immediate decision, "I am too old to listen to Thrice." Meanwhile, my younger peers went nuts over every note, scream, and melodic chorus. 

Born as either the youngest Gen X'er or the oldest Millennial, but more likely, as a generational vagabond with no place in the world, I felt ostracized from the sound of a lot of the new music of the 00's. It just didn't seem to be for me, and Thrice felt no different...until their Alchemy Index releases in 2007 and 2008, which one me over. Once I got into those albums, I went back and grabbed the band's 2003 major label debut, The Artist in the Ambulance.

The Artist in the Ambulance is a fun rock album, with some heavy touches. Most of the songs are upbeat. The guitar work is complex in some places, though the overall songwriting and song structures are straightforward. Vocalist, Dustin Kensrue, mostly sings in a slightly nasal, slightly gritty voice that's a bit thin and monotonous, punctuated with a some well-executed screams. His lyrics, though, are promising, and he seems earnest, without quite going into early 00's emo "too earnest." 

Now that I'm 17 years older than I was when The Artist in the Ambulance came out, I still feel about the same amount of "too old for this" that I did 17 years ago. That summer of 2003, my most played albums were Sigur Ros' ( ), Radiohead's Amnesiac, and Deftones' Self-Titled. Those are three great bands, but if you think about their work as early into their career as Thrice is here, it's not particularly better than The Artist in the Ambulance, a promising work from a young band. Okay...well, that's not necessarily true. Those three band's third albums are...pretty incredible. Maybe Thrice isn't quite on that level.

2003 Island Records

1. Cold Cash and Colder Hearts 2:52
2. Under a Killing Moon 2:41
3. All That's Left 3:20
4. Silhouette 3:06
5. Stare at the Sun 3:23
6. Paper Tigers 3:59
7. Hoods on Peregrine 3:31
8. The Melting Point of Wax 3:29
9. Blood Clots and Black Holes 2:49
10. The Artist in the Ambulance 3:39
11. The Abolition of Man 2:46
12. Don't Tell and We Won't Ask 3:59