THRILLS - Let’s Bottle Bohemia

Like so many of the last generation's would-be next big thing, Irish band Thrills have now arrived at their sophomore effort. Its predecessor “So Much For The City” presented the quintet grappling with California and the Beach Boys, steeped in pop with country and folk shadings. The warm welcome it received at home from fans and critics found no match across the Channel, where the reviews were savage (and not unfairly so). A year on comes “Let’s Bottle Bohemia”, which recalibrates the band's aim and ambitions.

Country and folk have been abandoned (almost entirely: only a few slide-guitar counterpoints survive), and the new material consists of an (often) orchestral pop that narrows the distance between the American dream and English reality.

That the band has matured is quite evident: Thrills have become skilled craftsmen and manage to put together solid arrangements (helped along by the divine hand of Van Dyke Parks overseeing production), but their lack of real flair is just as evident. Across the ten tracks there isn't a single spark of inspiration (the only exception being the synth counterpoint in “You Can’t Fool Old Friends With Limousines”), and on top of that the album carries a serious flaw for a pop record: decent melodies are as scarce as water in the desert. None of them are throwaway, but none of them stand out either. The upshot of these two absences combined is that almost nothing distinguishes itself, for better or worse (there might be a slight dip toward the end, but it has more to do with the formula wearing thin than any real difference in quality).

Beyond the substance, even formally the song being served up to us is always the same: a piano figure laying the foundations, various kinds and numbers of guitars thickening the sound, a touch of orchestration and synth in the arrangement, plenty of trills and chimes scattered here and there, drums marking a martial stride, speed-ups, slow-downs and rhythm changes, a catchy but far from irresistible melody, and vocals that are pleasant enough but ultimately one-note. All of it produced to a glossy shine and replicated ten times over.

There's really nothing else worth adding; only one conclusion remains to be drawn: “Let’s Bottle Bohemia” isn't a bad record, it's simply a pointless one.

Ride the wave of great music

Add OndaRock to your favorite sources on Google Discover. Don't miss our reviews, milestones and latest news straight in your feed.

Follow on Google

12/12/2006