Thursday – No Devolucion

Whoever decided that emo was all of a sudden a negative slur ought to be made to watch The Teletubbies on repeat. Just because the genre title implies skinny little boys wearing tight jeans and equally form-fitting tees with perfectly coiffed side-parted hair doesn’t mean that the music they create and admire is anything as absurd. Sure, I’ve been known to throw in a few saucy remarks about the said genre but upon close examination, emo is just hardcore music with a different emotion. Thursday is a perfect example of how absolutely clean and beautiful the niche they’ve been placed in can be.

They’re no strangers to the grind and with their latest album « No Devolucion », Thursday is proving that they indeed still very much know what they’re doing, what they’re saying and how they want to say it. The key thing to note on this album is that the band has indeed matured significantly. Gone are the days of guttural screamo and gritty music. Geoff Rickley’s vocals are clean, haunting, and even serene while the lulling music behind them is equally so.  That doesn’t go to say that he doesn’t still implement a bit of his old self somewhere in there. “Past and Future Ruins” comprises Rickley’s scream just before each chorus as a testament to the band’s past while still achieving a completely new sound. The band’s sixth release achieves that atmosphere created between being awake and asleep and calls to mind a hint of Death Cab for Cutie and just a tinge of The Smashing Pumpkins.

“No Answers” is a synthy oeuvre that Bjork would be proud of and is a marvelous showcase of the musical talents of keyboardist Andrew Everding.  It also serves as a prelude into “A Darker Forest”, a song so atmospheric and moody that it almost cripples you for the duration of the song.  With rhetorical lyrics like “But what if every path you take/ starts to look the same/ and lead equally astray/ we’ll walk in circles and never find our way”, we’re left to wonder about our direction in life and are reminded of the powerful impact that music can have on us and our emotions. “Millimeter” and “Turnpike Divides” are easily the heaviest songs on the album yet they maintain the form and refinement that the band has now created.

If No Devolucion has taught us anything it’s that a band can definitely evolve while still maintaining their core essence. “Stay True” is the aptly-named final song on the album that begins softly, builds, and ultimately erupts with emotion and vigor sending the album off with a climactic ending that leaves the listener satisfied. It’s an album for an older audience but definitely what the band intended and more importantly, and album worth adding to your collection.

Track List:

1. Fast to the End
2. No Answers
3. A Darker Forest
4. Sparks Against the Sun
5. Open Quotes
6. Past and Future Ruins
7. Magnets Caught in a Metal Heart
8. Empty Glass
9. A Gun in the First Act
10. Millimeter
11. Turnpike Divides
12. Stay True

Samantha