Thrice Changes Things Up In "Palms"

Thrice has always been at the forefront of moody, technical alternative rock. Even still, they’re finding new ways to push their sound in new directions. Thrice changes things in Palms, a reflective and emotional new record.

Thrice is much more mellow and alternative on this record than previous ones, even more so than their last effort To Be Everywhere Is To Be Nowhere. The record begins with a dark, brooding set of pounding synths with the introduction of ‘Only Us,’ leading into an awesome build where the whole band roars to life in a giant way. ‘The Grey‘ follows with a more familiar, alternative and energetic vibe you may be more ready to hear from Thrice. There aren’t many places where it feels like Thrice is in comfortable territory, but there are certain points: the aggression of ‘A Branch In The River‘ is reminiscent of Thrice’s earliest material, and ‘Hold Up A Light‘ is quite similar to more recent material.

A majority of Palms is a new direction, though. There’s this empowering, personal sound about this record that really helps it carve its own place in their discography. ‘The Dark‘ has exactly that vibe to it, the dark melodies serving as an empowering tale of finding yourself. ‘My Soul‘ sinks in more personally, the calmer, cleaner guitars serving as the perfect accompaniment for the sweet searching of the lyrics. Thrice really strip things down on some tracks, more noticeably in the piano ballad ‘Everything Belongs,’ which is definitely a rare treat from the band. Closing track ‘Beyond The Pines‘ hits the hardest, the beautiful track being restrained as Dustin Kensrue heartbreakingly whispers “And I will meet you there, beyond the pines / Templed in twilight or dawn / The light and easy air / Tracing the lines on our palms“ to end the album.

Thrice changes things up in Palms, being much more reflective and empowering than some of their other efforts. As much as the core sounds of Thrice are present, they definitely seem to be tackling a whole new beast here, and they do so with flying colors.

Favorite Tracks: Beyond The Pines, Only Us, Everybody Belongs

Least Favorite Track: Hold Up A Light

Rating: 86 / 100

Stream or buy Palms on Apple Music, and follow our 2018 Playlist on Spotify: