The Thermals – Personal Life

Personal Life is the fifth and possibly the best album yet from indie/punk band The Thermals.  The album is full of short, fiery songs with no two sounding the same. This is something I love on an album as it shows that each song has been carefully considered before making its way on to the album track list. Opening the album is I’m Gonna Change Your Life; starting with a heavy guitar intro you think your hearing a snippet from a punk rock album, but when the vocals start and you hear the folk/indie sounds from Hutch Harris you know this album is different to that of other indie/punk rock albums.

I Don’t Believe You is a personal favourite on the album, it has a much stronger indie feel to it than others on the album and is short enough for me to stay interested but long enough to get its message across. Others like this are Power Lies, which like I’m Gonna Change Your Life, starts with a heavy guitar intro but then slowly breaks into a fairy decent indie classic. One’s to look out for on the album are Your Love Is So Strong, which sounds like the kind of song you’d find playing at some student union event and A Reflection, a song that sounds completely different to any others on the album.

The easy lyrics thrown against the continual guitar rift and heavy drums make for an easy listen and perfect alternative love song. I also found the final track You Changed My Life one of the better songs on the album, as again it sounds different to the others; the music throughout makes the song what it is rather than the lyrics. The song is also one of the slower ones on the album and makes for a nice change to end the album with.

Over all I’d say the album is well worth a listen if you’re into the whole indie scene and don’t mind the occasional punk rock vibe thrown in. The album is different to other indie albums I’ve heard, as it has a folk feel to it and with each song being different on the album and relatively short it keeps the listener waiting to hear what sound they will be offered next.

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