THUNDERBIRDS ARE NOW!: MAKE HISTORY (REVIEW)
November 30th 2006 09:00
THUNDERBIRDS ARE NOW!
MAKE HISTORY
(2006; POPFRENZY)
RATING
TRACK LISTING: 1) Panthers In Crime / 2) The Veil Comes Down / 3) We Win (Ha Ha) / 4) Open Us Up / 5) Why We War / 6) Sound Issues/Smart Ideas / 7) Sleeping In The Lion’s Mouth / 8) Shit Gold / 9) Shake Them Awake / 10) PPL R ANMLS / 11) (The Making Of) Make History / 12) BONUS TRACK: Dangerish
Being produced by John Schmersal of Brainiac, I was hoping this would be as angular, distorted, and fucked-up as that band’s Hissing Prigs in Static Couture (1996). Instead, Schmersal uses his experience in Enon to help shape Thunderbirds Are Now!’s energetic disco punk into sparkling new wave pop—and that ain’t no bad thing. There is a dash of glitchy weirdness, especially the treated synths and minimal arrangement of the slow ‘n’ spooky “Shit Gold”; but any eccentricities are mostly relegated to gnawing at the edges of these major-key, would-be hits.
While this stops some of these songs from being as memorable as they’re trying to be, Ryan Allen’s spiky guitars and whiny vocal hooks in opener “Panthers in Crime” and “Sleeping in the Lion’s Mouth” justify the poppier direction the band has taken after their Justamustache (2005) album. The former tune boasts a wonderful intro reminiscent of the Beach Boys with plaintive acoustic strumming and heavenly harmonies. But in the background, synths subtly squeak and fizzle until the drums kick in and the wiry guitars take-off into what is a genuinely catchy, spaced-out track. There’s nothing else here that’s quite as inventive and memorable, but this is still a consistently engaging new wave pop album if you can get over the fact that vocalist Ryan Allen sounds like a twerp. There’s shoutalong pop anthems in “Why We War” and “Shake Them Awake”; “We Win (Ha Ha) and “PPL R ANMLS” offer some post punk dancefloor sounds powered along by Howard Chang’s throbbing bass and Matt Rickle’s thumping drums; and the closer “(The Making Of) Make History” shows a more weary, worldly sounding TAN! (hate that acronym) with a momentous arrangement, great distorted harmonies, and a big singalong finale.
Even though the guy looks like an emo-jerk who spent his advance on haircare products, the real winner here is Scott Allen and his analogue synthesiser, which bubbles and bloops like Kraftwerk, and spends as much time providing melodic leads as it does a futuristic yet nostalgic atmosphere. Actually, the rest of these guys look like the biggest indie geeks and worthy recipients of atomic wedgies imaginable. But they’ve got plenty of energy and seem to be having a whole lot of fun with their toys, and are probably hip enough for girls to take notice and bullies to leave 'em alone. Those geeks ya know, they'll inherit the earth, if they haven't already.
There’s also a bonus Australian and NZ track “Dangerish” that matches the best cuts on the album.
***
IMAGES
Make History*
(album cover used under fair dealing)
* images on this page were taken from the following All Music Guide page:
g17gjur66ib" target="_blank">Make History
MAKE HISTORY
(2006; POPFRENZY)
RATING
TRACK LISTING: 1) Panthers In Crime / 2) The Veil Comes Down / 3) We Win (Ha Ha) / 4) Open Us Up / 5) Why We War / 6) Sound Issues/Smart Ideas / 7) Sleeping In The Lion’s Mouth / 8) Shit Gold / 9) Shake Them Awake / 10) PPL R ANMLS / 11) (The Making Of) Make History / 12) BONUS TRACK: Dangerish
Make History (2006)
While this stops some of these songs from being as memorable as they’re trying to be, Ryan Allen’s spiky guitars and whiny vocal hooks in opener “Panthers in Crime” and “Sleeping in the Lion’s Mouth” justify the poppier direction the band has taken after their Justamustache (2005) album. The former tune boasts a wonderful intro reminiscent of the Beach Boys with plaintive acoustic strumming and heavenly harmonies. But in the background, synths subtly squeak and fizzle until the drums kick in and the wiry guitars take-off into what is a genuinely catchy, spaced-out track. There’s nothing else here that’s quite as inventive and memorable, but this is still a consistently engaging new wave pop album if you can get over the fact that vocalist Ryan Allen sounds like a twerp. There’s shoutalong pop anthems in “Why We War” and “Shake Them Awake”; “We Win (Ha Ha) and “PPL R ANMLS” offer some post punk dancefloor sounds powered along by Howard Chang’s throbbing bass and Matt Rickle’s thumping drums; and the closer “(The Making Of) Make History” shows a more weary, worldly sounding TAN! (hate that acronym) with a momentous arrangement, great distorted harmonies, and a big singalong finale.
Even though the guy looks like an emo-jerk who spent his advance on haircare products, the real winner here is Scott Allen and his analogue synthesiser, which bubbles and bloops like Kraftwerk, and spends as much time providing melodic leads as it does a futuristic yet nostalgic atmosphere. Actually, the rest of these guys look like the biggest indie geeks and worthy recipients of atomic wedgies imaginable. But they’ve got plenty of energy and seem to be having a whole lot of fun with their toys, and are probably hip enough for girls to take notice and bullies to leave 'em alone. Those geeks ya know, they'll inherit the earth, if they haven't already.
There’s also a bonus Australian and NZ track “Dangerish” that matches the best cuts on the album.
***
IMAGES
Make History*
(album cover used under fair dealing)
* images on this page were taken from the following All Music Guide page:
g17gjur66ib" target="_blank">Make History
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