Thrice - Beggars

crash_override · 03-27-2010, 04:09 PM

Album Review: 26 March, 2010

Thice - Beggars

1. "All the World Is Mad" 3:59
2. "The Weight" 5:00
3. "Circles" 4:19
4. "Doublespeak" 4:51
5. "In Exile" 3:53
6. "At the Last" 4:05
7. "Wood and Wire" 4:10
8. "Talking Through Glass / We Move Like Swing Sets" 4:30
9. "The Great Exchange" 3:33
10. "Beggars" 5:24

Beggars is the sixth studio album from the California based rock band Thrice. Beggars was released through Vagrant Records on September 15th, 2009, although the album was released to iTunes on August 11th and was leaked illegally at an unknown date prior to both official release dates.

This album takes a slightly different approach than their previous effort, a separately released effort which consisted of 4 separate EP's that was title The Alchemy Index Vol. 1,2,3,4. Beggars takes quite a turn from the experimental/ambient feel of The Alchemy Index series. The band does a tasty job of getting back to their roots as a rock band, while still maintaining the class and maturity they displayed in The Alchemy Index.

This album includes the single "In Exile", which despite not charting on the BIllboard top 100, has received the most mainstream radio play the band has seem since 2005's "All That's Left".

The flow of the album has a great feel. "All The World is Mad" starts the album off very nice, setting the tone of the album and making quite obvious the differences in this album from the bands previous releases. "The Weight" is a slower, yet extremely powerful song that changes up the feel of the album slightly, but still fits right at home at track 2. "In Exile" and "At The Last" are both great tracks and fill out the middle of the album nicely. "Talking Through the Glass" is probably the most nostalgic song on the album, it really sounds a lot like older Thrice, both in Dustin's vocals, and instrumentally. The song also features an Alice in Chains-esque bridge, which surprisingly, fits very well with the flow of the album. "The Great Exchange" and the title track "Beggars" close out the album nicely, both nice groovy, well sung songs with a lot of lyrical substance and meaning. I personally find the bass line on "Beggars" quite addicting.

Overall I would say as a fan of Thrice, I am pleased with the new direction the band has taken with this release. I wasn't a huge fan of The Alchemy Index, although it did receive positive reviews. This album shows more of the bands core musically. Everyone is brilliant instrumentally, with guitar, drum and bass parts subtle, yet very solid throughout. Dustin's solo work has obviously helped him develop a new vocal approach, and it shows on this album, while different than past albums, it works very well. I would recommend this album to any music fan.

Crash's Overall Grade: 8.5/10

Recommended Track's:

"The Weight"
"In Exile"
"At The Last"
"Beggars"

retpitar · 04-07-2010, 02:37 AM

Thrice has had a lot of solid releases, and is definitely one of my favorite bands. So, when this came out it was being judged with some very high expectations. I can honestly say I love it. It is amongst the best they've ever released and will be in my cd player for a very long time. I strongly recommend this to anyone. It's not as heavy as you might be used to, but it is still fantastic.

04-07-2010, 02:37 AM	#2 (permalink)
retpitar Groupie Join Date: Apr 2010 Posts: 4	Thrice has had a lot of solid releases, and is definitely one of my favorite bands. So, when this came out it was being judged with some very high expectations. I can honestly say I love it. It is amongst the best they've ever released and will be in my cd player for a very long time. I strongly recommend this to anyone. It's not as heavy as you might be used to, but it is still fantastic. __________________ flash drive