ALBUM REVIEW: Horizons/East – Thrice
Introspective transcendent post-rock. Granted this phrasing is often grossly overused, however, this may be the only appropriate instance. THRICE‘s 11th studio album Horizons/East is a transcendent, audiovisual experience that treads the line between existential dread and excitement, blending elements of post-rock with some notes of moody grunge and emo.
What we wouldn’t give to nestle down into the mind of Dustin Kensrue. Though not an entire departure, Kensrue’s gradual distancing from his religious ties has given him this fickle childlike bewilderment. Slowly untethering from a strict orthodox mindset has resulted in a swift change of lyrical content, one that’s more self-reflective and almost in a state of constant daydreaming. Kicking off with The Colour Of The Sky, this track seems to detail Kensrue’s frame of mind in a time of confusion: “And as I made my plans/My head would spin and swiftly dance… Why the roads were all dead ends/Why we’d no word to name the colour of the sky/And why did these tunnels lead me deep beneath the streets?” Though the vocalist has previously described this LP as “the human task of perceiving oneself amid details, disasters, and blessings,“ when masked with metaphors and poetic similes, the album’s lyrical content isn’t directly obvious which leaves listeners to come to their own philosophical conclusions.
Though an obvious note, as you’d hope there’d be a progression of sound and production in a 10-year window from any artist, it’s hard not to compare this to the band’s 2011 Major / Minor album, especially as it nears its decade anniversary. The now atmospheric sound of THRICE has since progressed past an exasperated 2000s post-hardcore, naturally developing into a temperamental post-rock-ish territory. Yet, it is still hard to whittle their latest album down to just one genre – the juxtaposition of gritty vocals against electrifying guitars in Scavengers nods to their early 2000s emo-ish/post-hardcore upbringing, but the triumphant roar that is Summer Set Fire To Rain is unlike anything we’ve heard from THRICE before.
When the rock and metal climate is so densely populated with hard-hitters and heavy anthems, it would be easy to write this album off as “boring” because it isn’t a riff-city paradise. Where it isn’t so reliant on repetitive techniques in post-hardcore instrumentals to carry it, Horizons/East is still “heavy” per se in its layered emotions and complex musical compositions that sometimes take their time to climax. This can be a dangerous territory though, as exampled by Still Life and Unitive/East. These aim to be these stripped-back, mysterious tracks, but they don’t have enough substance to hit the grungey 2000s rock vibe they’re going for and end up being lacklustre drab. However, that pitfall is a short-lived one, and Robot Soft Exorcism or Dandelion Wine exemplify what the rest of the album achieves with their jagged, distorted, long-drawn-out climaxes and breakdowns that make them so mouthwatering.
After a year subdued in turmoil and anxiety, perhaps something ponderous and quizzical is what we need to reflect on in current times. Sure, Horizons/East is as exuberant as a kaleidoscope, but it isn’t an annoying or irritating burst of positivity and excessive noise to remind you that “things are getting better!!” as so many musicians want to fatigue you with. This feels more like a passion project rather than a formulaic, traditional album. Maybe things won’t get better, maybe they will, this album extends much more beyond our volatile little human concerns. There’s so much to digest that it can’t be done in one sitting, you’d have to mull this over for a while before you can really appreciate it in its entirety, and there’s something to be said about the compositional and lyrical talents of the band to achieve something so intrinsically complicated that it might actually go over people’s heads. Whilst there’s still some refining to do with this new sound they’ve ventured into, overall Horizons/East is a refreshing burst of life and a great success for THRICE.
Rating: 8/10
Horizons/East is out now via Epitaph Records.
Like THRICE on Facebook.