It’s a return what the trio does best: Making your body move to pogo, while your brain quietly weeps for humanity.
This 26-minute concept album is confirmation of the power and enduring brilliance of the Thermals as they show no signs of slowing up—no signs of any erosion in their quality—and for that, we should be thankful.
The Thermals return to form with this scrappy collection, blazing through serious topics but never dropping the tempo long enough to get overwrought or self-indulgent.
As ever, their key skill is being extremely dark as well as mega poppy.
The Thermals are still a band in awkward transition resulting in a record that is reliably good by their own decent standards, but which fails to fulfil its very apparent potential to be great.
Though undeniably powerful, Desperate Ground does become a bit monotonous due to the lack of variety of mood and change in pace – as an unrelenting rant it needs to make an impact quickly, so its brevity is necessary.
The Thermals do what Green Day seemingly can’t anymore: they make anthemic punk-tinged pop that provokes serious thought and demands to be sung along to gleefully.
Newer fans might not be totally impressed here but existing ones yearning for Harris’ observations should be satisfied otherwise.
Desperate Ground is certainly a passable entry into The Thermal’s catalogue, but the only thing that I’m left to fear is that the chaotic, exhilarating Thermals of the past may be long gone.
The tempo throughout Desperate Ground struggles for consistency, and it’s strange to see a band that plays with such fire in their bellies go through the motions for the first time.
Desperate Ground feels more like an unrelenting march than an odyssey.
Desperate Ground has a tendency to sound monochromatic and homogenous. Songs blend into one another, and few tunes linger once the album ends
Desperate Ground is a record that really wants to convey having something to say and Harris has run out of ways to say that something.
Uh oh, what happened Thermals?
Ever since discovering "A Pillar Of Salt" I've been listening to this guys. The first 4 albums, I thought, were pretty good! But after listening to "Personal Life" I sensed a decline on the quality of their music. It's just not memorable in any way.
Desperate Ground is true to its title, it feels like their venture back into Lo-Fi production was a call back to their starting days. Their first album was recorded in a kitchen! Really! However ... read more
Fans of Green Days early sound from the 90's should be contempt with these Portlandian lo-fi punk rockers. While their lyrics can be kind of dark, they sing them with a lot of energy that never comes off as whiny. While recent albums have been leaning towards a more "approachable" sound for newer listeners, this is a return to the raw sound that made me love these guys in the first place.