The University News

Issue date: 10/24/05 Section: Culture

Media Credit: Cpurtesy Island Records Thrice´s latest album, "Vheissu," is what vocalist David Kensrue calls the group´s "best release to date."

Media Credit: Courtesy Island Records Thrice´s latest album, "Vheissu," is what vocalist David Kensrue calls the group´s "best release to date."

Have you ever finished a good movie or sophisticated book and were baffled by the intricate components behind it? Such a feeling can be applied to Thrice's "Vheissu."

Listening to this recent album, it is that same feeling as when one realizes the musical genius behind such a work inspires you to become your own musical prodigy.

When compared to its predecessors, this album is favorably promoted by its creators.

" [This album sets it apart from all the others in...] a lot of ways: we were able to take a lot of time on writing on this record, we were writing for about nine months straight, and we were writing on tour before that. So, we were able to do a lot of experimental things that we were trying to do in the past, because we did not have a lot of time...we were able to do a lot of instrumentations. There are a lot of keys on the record, piano, organ, synth. In general, we were able to create a lot of moods and spaces that we didn't have before...it's definitely, by far, the best release to date," said David Kensrue (vocals).

Kensrue and the band can validate that statement with their latest and highly anticipated album, "Vheissu."

The album opens with their first single, "Image of the Invisible." Here, the song starts off with a Morse code sound and then implements a gang of vocal chants. The chants create a somewhat ominous vibe that will stick to listeners' ears and taunt them as if it were some cry for rebellious motif.

The album goes from fast-paced element to a creak-on-the-brakes track titled "Between the End and Where We Lie." Kensrue further shows off his artistic talent and staple writing abilities on this song with metaphoric lyrics: "Is this everything, I've dreamed of so much more/between the end and where we lie/here all hopes and dreams are scavenged from the floor/and fed into machines that feed on vacant eyes/all of my dreams, always find me/far beyond these fake fluorescent skies/i know there must be something more, if i could only find the door/then I could free myself and see the world outside."

These lyrics give listeners a reason to commend Thrice on their creativity, especially Kensrue's contribution of intellectual lyrics.

The next song, "Earth Will Shake," creates a refined ambiance around listeners and evokes throughout the track a sense of intensity. Continuing to instill listeners with the same feeling, "Atlantic," admits Kensrue, is "one of the most different songs the band has ever done." The song includes acoustic guitars, echoey keyboards and other varied sounds. At this point, Thrice pushes their limits with the help of producer Stephen Osborne (U2). The band's use of dramatic dynamics and unique chord arrangements have proven they are an evolving group that continues to progress as critically acclaimed artists.

"We knew we wanted to make it [the album] kind of epic, cinematic...where it moves musically, not lyrically."

Another instrument incorporated into the album that listeners may be surprised to find is the piano tunes in "For Miles." To give a brief description of "For Miles," this music reviewer will give one synonym: epic. Like watching those heroic, two- to three-and-a-half-hour movies, listeners will be enthralled by the instrumentation used in this piece. The song is similar to the music heard when watching that cataclysmic final bout in films such as "Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" or "Braveheart."

Throughout the album listeners are taken on a roller coaster ride through the band's ingenious experimentations of rhythm, dynamics and sound. The album's music introduces steep drops when starting from an aggressive, heavy sound to other tracks that entail slow, melodic trances. The release also contains unexpected instruments and musical arrangements which induce fans and first-time listeners into whiplashes and hair pin turns that will surely leave them disoriented.

"Vheissu" is anything but less of what it was expected to be. The decision by the band to use "Vheissu" as the album title was creative. The cryptic title is a reference to the novel "V" by Thomas Pynchon. The name, in regard to the German phrase "Wie Heisst du?" meaning "what are you called," is an irony in itself when looking at the current transition and evolving state that Thrice is in.

"Vheissu" ends with 11 tracks, only to have fanatics yearning for more. The finale track, "Red Sky," is one which perfectly fits the phrase "save the best for last." The song is no doubt another epic addition to the album. Kensrue comments that the song depicts concise visuals that paint a picture which fit nicely with the mood of the song.

Kensrue also advises fans who have gone out and purchased the record to give the album some time to settle. He said it might take a while for fans to adjust and appreciate the record.

As for this reviewer's advice on the album, the band has done it again. Not once, not twice, nor thrice, but for the fifth release-this one's another scream-o!

jdaguinod@unews.com

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