Thrice -- Major/Minor

5/10

Thrice's Major/Minor starts off on a promisingly juicy guitar riff, with "Leadbelly." The rest of the album never quite lives up to that riff. The band continue to pare down their sound here, with a very minimalist, slightly hard rock approach. There's almost a tinge of garage rock to some of the guitar tones. Overall, it's fine, but boring. This was the last Thrice album I bought before I gave up, realizing that my original take on them before the band released the one album of their's I truly enjoy, The Alchemy Index, was accurate. That take is that I find Thrice's music unexciting, the vocals tiring, and even...yes, even the lyrics a little grating--not a fan of "we" perspectives in anything, plus the seemingly deep spiritual explorations appear far more shallow upon closer inspection. I was only able to get through Major/Minor twice after buying it in 2011, and it was a chore to get through again for this review. I can't believe I bought five of this band's albums just because I really liked one of them. Again, I can't say Major/Minor is bad--the band's fans may find enjoyment, maybe even great enjoyment in the band trying to get as bare bones as possible. Holy cow, though, now that I've reviewed it, I don't think I'll be coming back ever again.


2011 Vagrant
1. Yellow Belly 3:58
2. Promises 4:09
3. Blinded 4:24
4. Cataracts 4:03
5. Call It in the Air 4:37
6. Treading Paper 4:41
7. Blur 3:14
8. Words in the Water 6:26
9. Listen Through Me 4:37v 

10. Anthology 4:35
11. Disarmed 4:49