Thrice performing at Emo's Austin in Austin, Texas on September 26, 2021, with Eddie Breckenridge, Riley Breckenridge, Dustin Kensrue, and Teppei Teranishi. (Photo: Ralph Arvesen)
To emerge from a global pandemic with a renewed sense of situational awareness, hard won insight, and a new album is the kind of move we’ve come to expect from Thrice over the last twenty years. With Horizons/East, Dustin Kensrue and his bandmates address, with candor and courage, the fragile and awkward arrangements that pass for civilization, while inviting us to dwell more knowingly within our own lives. Without surrendering any of the energy and hard edge of their previous albums, they’ve given us a profoundly meditative work which serves as a musical summons to everyday attentiveness.
Since forming Thrice with guitarist Teppei Teranishi, bassist Eddie Breckenridge, and drummer Riley Breckenridge in 1998, Kensrue has never been one to back down from a mental fight. This mood is set by the opening synth-driven number “Color of the Sky,” which sounds well-suited to accompany the closing credits of the Stranger Things season finale. Think Flying Lotus giving way to Elbow and setting the listener down in a new dimension. A self-recorded effort, Horizons/East conveys a palpable sense of danger, determination, and possibility. Scott Evans (Sleep, Kowloon Walled City, Yautja, Town Portal) is on mixing duties, conjuring a landscape of gloom, glow, and glory.
On “Buried in the Sun,” which had the working title of “D.C. Bass,” the band’s fondness for bands like Fugazi and Frodus comes to the fore. In it we learn that there’s a military-industrial complex, a vast apparatus of legal bullying, to take on (I saw the fire on the television/the DoD or the CIA), but the threat to our mental health in acknowledging our own country’s participation in the terror trade is both immersive and interior. The psychic struggle will often come down to what we’re doing with our tools, how we hold what passes before our minds in dreams and on screens. There’s a lot to take in and a lot to be mad about, but Horizons/East invites us to slow tape and see.
Thrice is still the best. I've seen Thrice several times over 15 plus years. They are consistently better than most other bands out there and exceed recorded performances.Setlist for the show at the Emos
Great Live. Thrice put on a great show. They we great as always.
Great show! One of the greatest shows I have ever seen!
Exceeds expectations. I thought they would put on a good show and that the opening acts would be ok. I was pleasantly surprised that the opening acts were really good and then Thrice killed it with a great show. From the music to the stage effects it was electrifying.
Thrice, greatest of live bands. They never disappoint with their live show even after seeing them 15+ times. Sound quality was amazing and I took a friend that was unfamiliar with the band and he loved the show. Teppei was insane going between guitars and keyboard and Dustin’s voice was album quality per usual. More album tours please Thrice!
Hearing this pivotal record for a Thrice come to life was a truly powerful and moving experience for any diehard fan of this band. The ones who stuck with them after Artist In The Ambulance got a treat this tour. They clearly favor this album as their own personal favorite and that’s what you got when they performed it live. Heavy, emotional, bottom ended, and pure. They absolutely killed it. Seeing this live made me fall in love with this album even more. Such a great experience and a great way to put a shine on an old treasure. The signed commemorative poster was a great bonus as well.
- The Color of the Sky
- Scavengers
- The Artist in the Ambulance
- Black Honey
- All the World Is Mad
- In Exile
- Deeper Wells
- Summer Set Fire to the Rain
- Hurricane
- Buried in the Sun
- Just Breathe
- Robot Soft Exorcism
- Dandelion Wine
- The Long Defeat
- Firebreather
- The Earth Will Shake
- Beyond the Pines
- Anthology
Thrice was the main act at Emo's Austin with guests Jim Ward and Self Defense Family. They continue across the United States and Europe with the last stop at the Mad Cool Festival in Madrid, Spain on July 6, 2022.
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Photos by Ralph Arvesen
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