Category: The Thermals

The Thermals – Fuckin A

ARTIST: The Thermals                  220px-the_thermals_-_fuckin_a

TITLE: Fuckin A

YEAR RELEASED: 2004

CHART ACTION: None

SINGLES: How We Know

OTHER SONGS YOU MAY KNOW: Um..doubtful

LINEUP: Hutch Harris, Kathy Foster, Jordan Hudson

WHAT’S IT ALL ABOUT: The Thermals move into being a real band, and their fury lit up the Pacific Northwest.

SOME WORDS, PHRASES AND CLAUSES ABOUT THIS RECORD: It’s hard to believe that Hutch Harris and Kathy Foster were folkies before the Thermals, but they were. Now that Harris, Foster, and Jordan Hudson became the Thermals after Harris recoded and album under that name, there’s no ‘folk’ here, unless it’s the punk rock for the people as the new ‘folk’.

Harris’ guitar screams and howls, much like his vocals on many tracks. Foster’s bass is in the Laura Balance mode, distortion and volume and working in lockstep with drums. There’s definitely passion and fire here.

It’s under 30 minutes long, but it doesn’t seem like a rip-off. Harris’ vocals and lyrics point to the anger the youth felt about the world in the mid-2000’s. A leap forward and worthy of your catalog.

NOTES & MINUTIAE: This was recorded in four days, in a studio (unlike their debut)

IS THERE A DELUXE VERSION: No.

 GRADE A-: The Thermals were a hidden gem of the 2000’s, and this record truly started them toward toward their glory days.

The Thermals – More Parts per Million

ARTIST: The Thermals                220px-more_parts_per_million

TITLE:  More Parts per Million

YEAR RELEASED: 2003

CHART ACTION: None

SINGLES: None

OTHER SONGS YOU MAY KNOW: Not outside of KEXP, probably

LINEUP: Hutch Harris.

WHAT’S IT ALL ABOUT: Basically a solo album for Hutch Harris, who did everything himself. Kathy Foster, his former folkie duo partner, would soon join as he put together a real band.

SOME WORDS, PHRASES AND CLAUSES ABOUT THIS RECORD: It’s a cheap album, all done by Hutch Harris, and costing less than $100 to record. It is a bit rough around the edges, but it does sound like the Thermals.

Harris changed directions from his old band with Kathy Foster, who soon joined Harris on stage with Jordan Hudson, writing in a alternative / punk rock style with some earnest vocals.

This is another record where the songs whir and blur together, and it’s hard to pick out a standout cut. It’s all OK, and Harris and company would improve as they matured as a band.

NOTES & MINUTIAE: The folk due was Hutch & Kathy – which sounds like an SNL skit.

IS THERE A DELUXE VERSION: No

GRADE: C+:  I can’t say it’s great, but it’s decent enough in parts. It just all is kind of the same, really.