Reviews

Kill The House Lights

Thursday

Released: Oct 30, 2007
Label: Victory Records
Reviewed by: Ian Lashbrook
4 comments

Thursday's Full Collapse was a monumental album in my life. It was the first record I ever bought that was on an entirely independent label and it immediately struck me. Lyrically and musically, it surprised me at every turn; I had never heard anything like it before. At the time, in my significantly smaller musical universe, it sounded like Counting Crows trying to play Metallica songs. In short, it transformed me into a Thursday fan for life. I've followed the band since and have thoroughly enjoyed every record they have put out. I only got the chance to see them live for the first time last year and was enthralled throughout their entire performance...though I suppose it does help when Anthony Green lends some vocals to "Understanding in a Car Crash." All of these past experiences led me to greatly anticipate the release of their b-sides project, Kill the House Lights, despite their return to Victory Records for the album.

I suppose it makes sense; Victory broke the band and I'm sure the craziest things that have happened to them occurred during the Full Collapse tours and their subsequent signing to Island. All of this is confirmed in the fantastic documentary which accompanies the CD. And before we go any further, let me say this; Kill the House Lights is exactly the kind of release major record labels should look to if they want to boost sales. By including an entire disc of b-sides and a DVD featuring both a full-length documentary on the history of the band as well as an entire live show, Victory has created a package that any fan of the band would want to pick up. This, folks, is how you continue to sell records in the digital age; providing something that you can only get by purchasing the (reasonably priced) record. All of that aside, not only is this a great bargain due to the overwhelming amount of content, but all of the content is also vintage Thursday and certainly holds up to the high standards they have set for themselves over the years.

For the music portion of the package, you get three new songs, some unreleased or hard to find b-sides, a live version of "Signals Over the Air," and some other interesting things. All of the music is top notch, even the 4-track recording of Geoff playing a song called "A Sketch for Time's Arrow" by himself with an acoustic guitar. The three new songs sound like a mix between Thursday's middle records...that's really the best way I can describe it. The raw emotion of Full Collapse is here in the lead off track, "Ladies and Gentlemen: My Brother the Failure." That emotion is coupled with the aggressiveness and raw qualities of War All the Time on the second track, "Dead Songs." This track is one of my favorites on the record; it gives a glimpse of a version of Thursday that seems invigorated and ready to conquer the world all over again. The rest of the album flows well and the entire sequence is put together perfectly. Some of the tunes seem a bit unnecessary, like the demo version of "Paris in Flames," but all in all, these are great tracks that really show off Thursday's growth over the years. The only thing I would have liked to see would be the inclusion of their cover of Sigur Ros' "Ny Batteri," which appeared only on the Japanese import version of War All the Time.

For the DVD, like I said, you get the documentary and the concert as well as a few extras. The documentary, while maybe relying a bit too much on band member interviews, shows some great archival footage from over the years while also unwinding a lot of the turmoil that Thursday have faced. There is some candid face time given by their A&R guy at Island who signed them; he's brutally honest about not liking the first versions of War All the Time and A City by the Light Divided. There's also some time spent with Tony Brummel, CEO of Victory Records. He generally discusses the way the band broke into the mainstream and the whole "Thursday Whoopie Cushion" incident. The most interesting thing about the documentary is it's ending; the band seems unsure about where they are or where they are going. While the end might be a bit too vague for a lot of people, it struck me as perfect considering where Thursday have been and the fact that they were dropped from their major label. This is a band that knows nothing more than the fact that they love playing music. The concert included sounds like a few things were polished up in the studio, but it maintains a great live vibe and the performances are superb. If you have not seen Thursday live, go see them first and then purchase this CD/DVD so that you can relive the experience (to a slightly lesser degree) over and over.

Needless to say, this is a great package and a fantastic release from both Thursday and Victory Records. The DVD shows a great live band at the height of their powers and on the CD side of things, the only thing better would be a new album, but considering the strength of the new tunes on Kill the House Lights, I have no doubt that the next Thursday record will be another brilliant slab of atmospheric punk.