How long do you give an album before you review it? According to one particular reviewer, 10 times. To me you cannot put a timescale on it. Some records click first time, others take days, weeks and maybe even months. And here’s the conundrum I find with Thrice‘s ‘Beggars’ – I’ve listened to this for 6 to 8 weeks now and I’m still a little baffled by it. I don’t know if I like it a lot or I like it a little. Sure, it’s a good record and I don’t think anyone could argue with that, but is it a great one? I’m not convinced, even after solid listening.
I’ll hold my hands up and admit I much prefer Thrice‘s earlier material. I thought the four-album thing was a real disappointment and just came across like a band disappearing up their own rectum. So in that sense ‘Beggars’ impresses me because it’s much more organic. It’s more of the band doing what they do best, throwing in soaring vocals and dynamic guitars. It’s cleaner, less experimental. It’s a little too slow by the end, but the aggressive, more passionate songs sound brilliant. ‘All The World Is Mad’ and the second half of ‘The Weight’ are brilliant. Dustin’s vocals are as good as at any point in their career and you can tell the band have matured into not just a great band, but great musicians too.
So far, so good. But the more I listened to this album, the more I like the louder bits and dislike the quieter bits. There are elements of Radiohead in here and I just don’t think Thrice carry off the quieter parts of their sound as well as the more aggressive sections. I’m not after ‘Deadbolt’ style riffs and I’ve accepted the band have grown up and moved on, but as a listener and a casual fan I feel there are better bands doing the mid-paced stuff. ‘In Exile’ just trudges on a little bit, it’s not a bad song, but it doesn’t do that much for me. And there are a couple of songs that make me feel the same.
It’s almost like I want the penny to drop and I want this record to suddenly make sense as a whole, but I’m not going to hold my breath. Two months of intense listening and while this has grown on me, I just cannot see it growing from a 7/10 to anything more. If you enjoyed ‘Vhiessu’ I see no reason why ‘Beggars’ will not get you excited. There’s no doubt the band are, musically at least, on top of their game. It’s a return to form, a good, solid album. But it’s not their best, for me anyway.