Hardly Art, Hardly Starving

I was a little too young to really get into grunge, and my punk phase didn’t last all that long, but I still do enjoy bands that let it all hang out, play loud, play wild, and usually finish up their songs about 2 minutes and 20 seconds after they started. The Thermals are probably my favorite example of that genre.

I saw them back in early 2003, before their first album was even released, in one of their very first shows when they were opening for Death Cab. It was one of those instances where you momentarily forget that you even came to the show to see someone else. Even that early in their career they were a very tight band, walking the fine line between the controlled anarchy of punk and just flailing about with quite a bit of skill.

It’s punk music without all the trappings about “what does it mean to be punk? What’s authentically punk” and all that garbage. They don’t care about whether other people validate them; they’re just rocking because it’s fun and what the hell else is there to do? Their music is pretty simple: three chords, dirty guitars, lo-fi production, and a lot of attitude. Though, to be fair, it’s been mixed by Chris Walla (of Death Cab), meaning it’s designed to sound more lo-fi than it actually is. But whatever, they sound great live just thrashing about on the stage and the recordings do a good job of matching up to that.

No Culture Icons
Everything I wrote above applies to this song. It begins with him singing over fuzzed out guitars “hardly art, hardly starving, hardly art, hardly garbage” with a delightful sneer, and then the drums kick in. The verse and chorus repeat themselves, and before you know it the song is over and you want to listen to it again. The song is a swipe at pretentiousness. It’s a typical punk sentiment: tear down the structures of society and culture and just let the basic ideals shine through. It’s clear they find nothing wrong with those who want to create something – it’s those who want to turn art into a product for consumption that frustrate them. It just seems to miss the point.

Back to Gray
This is definitely my favorite of their songs. It’s a little less representative, since it’s probably a bit more melodic than the rest of their stuff. It’s still very clearly The Thermals, but it reveals that underneath the chaos of their other songs, their basic mastery of songwriting. It’s like Guided by Voices at their best, without the Pollard drunken stupor.

Top of the Earth
This is from their second album, which was mildly disappointing. It wasn’t terrible or anything, but it was pretty much just More Parts Per Million, version 2.0, and not quite as good. Still an enjoyable listen, but if you want to try out something by them, stick with the first album. I do like this song quite a bit, though. Clocking in at less than a minute, it condenses what other bands would spread over three or four minutes into its essence. Like “So Much Beauty in Dirt” by Modest Mouse, it’s a song about the moments in your life that just make sense, brief and fleeting. They’re over before you know it, and so is the song.