Album Reviews
The Alchemy Index vol. III & IV : Air & Earth
8.5
When I first listened to vol. I & II of “The Alchemy Index” I wasn’t all that impressed. Not that I didn’t like it, it just wasn’t what I was expecting to hear from Thrice. Sure, they’ve always enjoyed their little sonic experiment here and there but this was something else entirely. But eventually the release grew on me. So now I’m finally listening to vol. III and IV and it’s way easier to get into. Not only because the previous release kinda prepared me for what I was gonna hear but most of all because this is definitely the better half of “The Alchemy Index”.
“Air” shows all the different sides of Thrice who – just like the wind – can go from gently breezing to raging within seconds. Lots of drum beats and electronic sounds here with “The Sky Is Falling” and the incredibly intimate “Silver Wings” as the highlights.
“Earth” sounds exactly like what you’d expect from it… rootsy, earthy (if that’s a word). It reminds me a lot of vocalist Dustin Kensrue’s solo album “Please Come Home”. It sounds all cozy and warm which probably has something to do with the fact that they recorded it in a barn with wooden floors and they played all acoustic instruments. Highlights here include “Come All You Weary” and the Frodus cover “The Earth Isn’t Humming”.
When you put all 4 EP’s together, you’ve got a whopping 24 songs in total that show all the different sides there are to Thrice. While it’s a lot to take in, it does prove that whatever these guys do, they do it well. Not one release by Thrice has sounded similar and I for one am curious to see what they’ll be up to next!
Tom Dumarey
Lacking the talent to actually play in a band, Tom decided he would write about bands instead. Turns out his writing skills are mediocre at best as well.
