Is it really true? Have New Jersey hardcore screamsters Thursday really gone soft for their latest album? Well… kinda. Fans of the band may have read in recent reports that the post-hardcore sextet have opted to take things a bit darker and slower for their sixth offering ‘No Devolucion’. However, if you’re already starting to imagine a much duller effort this time around, think again. Thursday may have lost some – and I do mean some - of their original ferocity, but the intensity is certainly all still there.
Getting things off to an eerie and echoey start on opener ‘Fast to the End’, the album already begins to show signs of being more of a post-rock record, rather than post-hardcore. There’s still some of the old aggression there, but this definitely isn’t the Thursday you might be used to. It’s next Thursday, so to speak.
Following it up with ‘No Answers’, the band quickly move on yet again and, this time, you will find yourself immersed in an altogether more psychedelic affair, to say the least. This, like ‘A Darker Forest’, is a keyboard-driven, pop-inspired ballad with a certain degree of sullenness to the overall mood. Not that fans of ‘Thursday’ will be completely unfamiliar with the more poppier side of things, but – and I hope they can forgive me for saying this – the latter track is probably closer to the likes of Linkin Park than anyone else you might have already linked them to, except with a much greater focus on a more experimental quality.
The avant-garde theme continues on ‘Open Quotes’, which is oddly comparable to some of Biffy Clyro’s earlier and more broad-minded work to date. Elsewhere comparisons can also be made to the likes of Smashing Pumpkins, whose mellower efforts are, in some ways, similar to several new Thursday tracks, such as album closer ‘Stay True’. However, the heavier elements of ‘No Devolucion’ can’t be ignored either and can be experienced in full force in the gothic post-punk of ‘Millimetre’ and the hard and fast guitar riffs of ‘Turnpike Divides’.
If you are a fan of the old Thursday, then you may be in for a shock with their arty sixth effort ‘No Devolucion’. However, that doesn’t mean that this is in any way an embarrassing blemish on an otherwise flawless reputation. Far from it. ‘No Devolucion’ isn’t just a sign of Thursday’s ongoing maturity either. It’s much more of a progression into an already progressive area of music. And long may it continue.
Stereoboard Rating: 7/10
‘No Devolucion’ is due for release on 11th April
Thursday will be on tour in the UK in April.
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Following it up with ‘No Answers’, the band quickly move on yet again and, this time, you will find yourself immersed in an altogether more psychedelic affair, to say the least. This, like ‘A Darker Forest’, is a keyboard-driven, pop-inspired ballad with a certain degree of sullenness to the overall mood. Not that fans of ‘Thursday’ will be completely unfamiliar with the more poppier side of things, but – and I hope they can forgive me for saying this – the latter track is probably closer to the likes of Linkin Park than anyone else you might have already linked them to, except with a much greater focus on a more experimental quality. 
