There comes a time in every band's career when complicating their sound is irresistible, and this time has come for epic-hardcore rockers Thrice. Their new album Vheissu is a radical departure from the simple, refined guitar-bass-drums formula they followed on their previous three albums. While their academic influences remain'the title is a reference to Thomas Pynchon's debut novel 'V.''Thrice has produced an album that is structurally impressive but intellectually unsatisfying. They have done a good job diversifying their sound, but the overall effect is too wavering and unfocused to be completely successful.
Thrice establishes their new style within the album's first seconds with a science-fictionish beeping that wouldn't be out of place on an Orgy album. The effect is odd because its accompanying track 'Image of the Invisible' is one of the most naturalistic on the album. Beeping notwithstanding, it is a splendid way to start the album, a passionate invocation to the gods of rock that captures Thrice's heroic spirit. The band is mature enough now to slow the song down in the middle, driving its point home more effectively by dialing back the thrash'something earlier Thrice might not have thought logical.
Things start to get complex on 'The Earth Will Shake,' a staggering amalgamation of musical genres. The track begins with a lo-fi blues gospel intro before abruptly turning into a grungy ballad and finally arriving at something as hardcore as Thrice has ever been. The song continues to move back and forth between the three. Startlingly, it works.
Vheissu still contains some doctrinaire screamo moments, particularly on 'Hold Fast Hope,' but most of the album is complex in the style of 'The Earth Will Shake.' It only works sometimes. The wheels start to fall off in a few places, first on the somnambulant 'Atlantic.' Bandmembers Dustin Kensrue and Teppei Teranishi attempt to create a dreamy musical landscape by utilizing synthesizers, glockenspiels and other unusual percussion, but end up with something more like a poor Coldplay knockoff. Teranishi also makes extensive use of the 'we're getting serious now' tool'the piano'on tracks like 'For Miles,' with uninspiring results.
The album's best track is 'Music Box,' a wistful song that combines the best of Thrice's hardcore roots and its newfound extensive production. Using the tingly high-pitched sound of a music box as its basis, it has a grandiose feel along with a sense of childlike wonder.
With this notable exception, the second half of the album has a muddled, undirected feel. The last track, 'Red Sky,' is like much of the album: admirably ambitious, but it ultimately falls flat. Its pensive, subdued tone makes it feel like an awkward Postal Service impression.
Like many maturing bands, Thrice made a decision to change, and that decision is commendable'hats off to them for realizing that fans do not want to hear the same thing over and over. Even though Vheissu does not emerge fully triumphant, Thrice is clearly moving in an interesting new direction.
