Thrice is releasing their latest album, Horizons/West October 3 of this year. It’s serving as a companion to Horizons/East released in 2021. Both albums have an introspection in the lyrics and similar musical patterns, but they stand on their own. To me, it feels like the Horizons/West album is more of a breakdown of the wider concepts that Horizons/East offered. Even from the album art where Horizons/East had a multi-colored iris, Horizons/West has the same color palette, but it’s laid out almost like a mood board.
Horizons/West dives into themes of personal identity, societal manipulation, technologocial anxiety, and spiritual awakening. Lead vocalist Dean Kensrue explains “A lot of this record is about parsing reality. We’re constantly being influenced by algorithms, by fear, by echo chambers. Horizons/West tries to pull the curtains back on some of that.”
With their first single and second track, “Gash,” there’s a moody lyric video released that ties the two albums together. As the visuals combine a series of horizons in that same color palette, the mixture of the natural elements pay homage to the previous album’s track titles (ie. “The Color of the Sky,” “ Buried in the Sun” etc.) while juxtaposing with the lyrics of inner turmoil: “I’m the heavy hammer that you seize to make something new. But all you can do is break. I’m the subtle dagger up your sleeve when someone’s to blame.”
The album opens with “Blackout,” with an ethereal melody. The drum cadence begins like a Native American ceremony that almost transports the listener to a dessert night. Dustin comes in with deep, lulling vocals that continues this vocal and encompasses the lyrics of “we’ll find the light inside each breath, behind our eyes, beneath the west.” Two-thirds through the song, the tempo ramps up, which opens the album perfectly for the energy the album brings. This song is perfectly crafted to immediately pull in the listener to feel and understand the weight of the lyrics throughout the album, yet feel that energy with the heaviness of the growling guitar, deep drum beats, and guttural vocals.
“Holding On” opens with a dream sequence-like keyboard just before they hit with the heaviness. With the almost inconceivable undertone of that other worldly chord, this track is the one that feels like it’s pulling the curtain back on the reality we as a society are facing. Even with the energy of the song, there’s a dream-like feel to it with some of my favorite lyrics that break the facade: “there’s a fray in the thread. There’s a grey in your head. There’s the noise that never ends. There’s the lie you buried…there’s the crack in the urn. There’s the blister and burn. There’s a plaque that sings your praise. There’s the pillar of salt. And the pills you’ve swallowed since. Just hold on. I know you’re tired. And you doubt that you’re quite sane. You’ve been longing for a moment to breathe without the pain. Keep holding on.” This is the song to wake people up about the Truman Show that we’re all living in.
“Unitive/West” closes the album in the same way the album opened. The vocals are reminiscent of a Gregorian Chant with a soft tinkling that sounds like a ship’s bell. The lyrics are sparse, but cause for some deep introspection to answer the question of life after death: “Is there and I unbounded. Above, as below. This breath I must surrender. And yet, where could I go? Is there an I hereafter? Of Dew and dust undressed/ Beyond this dark horizon. Beneath the boundless west.” The lyrics and the simple music tied together offer the visualization of crossing the River Styx.
Horizons/West is available October 3 on all digital platforms, or you can get a physical copy on CD or vinyl by pre-ordering on their website, thricemerch.net. This album isn’t a quick listen, it deserves the experience of vinyl, in my opinion. Following the album release, Thrice is heading on a national tour beginning October 17. Dates can be found on their website, and follow SideStage Magazine for more coverage.
Track list:
1. Blackout
2. Gnash
3. Albatross
4. Undertow
5. Holding On
6. Dusk
7. Dark Glow
8. Crooked Shadows
9. Distant Suns
10. Vesper Light
11. Unitive/West
