The Thermals - Desperate Ground

If you've heard the Thermals once, you'll know what's going on here too. Short burst of punk rock goodness. Heavy sing-along shouting with defiant energy. Sixteenth notes.

That's true here too. The longest song is 3:10. Previous albums have lyrically focused on politics, like the Bush era's "Fuckin' A"; or maybe have been more poetically ambiguous like "More Parts Per Million". The new album though is strictly defiant individualism.

"The sword by my side will be the last thing my enemies will see."

Seriously, the songs are so righteous in their single "I WILL SURVIVE/OVERCOME" message, that if they just added guitar solos it would fit comfortably next to your KISS or Manowar albums from the eighties. "Our love is true, that's why we fight..."

It's really difficult to find much else to say about the record. It's over and done with in under thirty minutes. And that's not a bad thing. High energy, inspirational and out the door once your ass is kicked. With an AC/DC-like tenacity, the songs are all similar enough to define a style without being a boring collection where all songs are a poorer representation of one good song. Yeah, I shouted out a lot of old-school metal here, but that's just attitude. It's still a punk collection and it will rank among the best of the year. (4 of 5 stars)