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Melbourne four-piece Thornhill are back with their explosive new offering, ‘BODIES’. In their own words, its “immediate, unfiltered approach … feels like a lightning bolt.” It’s hard to argue with this description. ‘BODIES’ powers through its runtime with an intensity that is rarely let up.
‘DIESEL’ rips into us with the exact intention that the rest of the album is about to follow, possessing a grinding, bouncing bass, its monstrous tone and energy like a dancing kaiju. When it’s quiet, it throbs and pulses underneath soft, Deftones-esque vocals and atmospheric synths; but quiet isn’t the intention Thornhill are setting here. It’s loud, frantic music to move to. ‘DIESEL’, as the name suggests – all caps, shouted and emboldened – is the fuel to set us off.
Lead single ‘Obsession’, released over a year ago, sets the scene in no uncertain terms. That alt-metal, Deftones influence is clear both vocally and rhythmically, a snaking and filthy bass throughout, and the refrain, “A portrait of a lady on fire in my mind”, seemingly a nod to the queer French art film from 2019 of the same name. ‘nerv’, which dropped late last year, is the lead-in to ‘Obsession’, with scarcely a breath between the two. It’s the heavier of the pairing, with shouted, hardcore vocals in the verses and a rhythm that’s punchy enough to bruise. Even the choruses, more open and atmospheric, are underpinned by a complex drumbeat that doesn’t let you take it easy.
Relentlessness is a part of the fabric from which ‘BODIES’ is woven. Songs collide into one another, synthy effects giving us that quick, sharp intake of breathe before plunging us back under. ‘Silver Swarm’, released in January, starts with that short build-up before the hammer hits hard. Quieter, melodic moments break up the intensity without taking away from it. ‘TONGUES’, the fourth and final single, blends that melodic Deftones vibe with hardcore rhythms, the guitars and bass locked in a continual, shifting descending pattern, falling, falling, like Sisyphus’ boulder. It ends suddenly, unusual in the album, letting the ‘nerv’/‘Obsession’ one-two punch stand independent.
‘Revolver’ comes in hard from the thunder of ‘DIESEL’, a full minute of churning guitars before the rhythm settles into its chorus, albeit briefly. There’s an interplay that drives the whole album between intense heaviness and soft, airy moments, often interwoven into the same section. ‘Only Ever You’ brings this softer side into its verses, with a heavier, guitar-led riff washing in and out of it. It’s Thornhill at their most melodic, almost poppy at times, leading in to the album’s interlude ‘fall into the wind’. A rarity these days, but not unwelcome here; a single repeated guitar line falling into atmospheric synths that, again, wash over us like waves.
We see that poppier side again on ‘CRUSH’, all synths and drum machine, and soft melodies. This is the quietest the band let themselves get, setting aside live instruments entirely in favour of a more electronic, synth-pop approach. Don’t worry though – ‘under the knife’, following ‘CRUSH’, whispers a grinding rhythm to us in the delay-shifted notes of its opening bars as if to disturb our dreaming and let us know there’s another heavy number about to set in. One final song in the pattern set throughout the album: raw, intense guitars and softer melodies dancing together round a twisted maypole.
‘For Now’ shows Thornhill almost at their softest here, guitars, synths, and vocals with delays washing up against our ears like those same waves we heard in ‘fall into the wind’. The bass is notably absent for almost a full minute and a half, and despite the song getting louder, it avoids the heavy rhythms and accents that make up the rest of the album, instead striking a far more melancholy tone on which we’re left hanging.
‘BODIES’ is a fantastic display of ferocity from start to finish, without ever feeling like it’s posturing. This is tightly written alt-metal that hearkens back to the genre’s roots. If we’ve mentioned Deftones here one time too many, it’s no coincidence. Thornhill come close to dancing in their shadow at times, but never lose their own identity to their influences. ‘BODIES’ does exactly what it sets out to do, and it was well worth the doing.
WILL BRIGHT
‘DIESEL’ rips into us with the exact intention that the rest of the album is about to follow, possessing a grinding, bouncing bass, its monstrous tone and energy like a dancing kaiju. When it’s quiet, it throbs and pulses underneath soft, Deftones-esque vocals and atmospheric synths; but quiet isn’t the intention Thornhill are setting here. It’s loud, frantic music to move to. ‘DIESEL’, as the name suggests – all caps, shouted and emboldened – is the fuel to set us off.
Lead single ‘Obsession’, released over a year ago, sets the scene in no uncertain terms. That alt-metal, Deftones influence is clear both vocally and rhythmically, a snaking and filthy bass throughout, and the refrain, “A portrait of a lady on fire in my mind”, seemingly a nod to the queer French art film from 2019 of the same name. ‘nerv’, which dropped late last year, is the lead-in to ‘Obsession’, with scarcely a breath between the two. It’s the heavier of the pairing, with shouted, hardcore vocals in the verses and a rhythm that’s punchy enough to bruise. Even the choruses, more open and atmospheric, are underpinned by a complex drumbeat that doesn’t let you take it easy.
Relentlessness is a part of the fabric from which ‘BODIES’ is woven. Songs collide into one another, synthy effects giving us that quick, sharp intake of breathe before plunging us back under. ‘Silver Swarm’, released in January, starts with that short build-up before the hammer hits hard. Quieter, melodic moments break up the intensity without taking away from it. ‘TONGUES’, the fourth and final single, blends that melodic Deftones vibe with hardcore rhythms, the guitars and bass locked in a continual, shifting descending pattern, falling, falling, like Sisyphus’ boulder. It ends suddenly, unusual in the album, letting the ‘nerv’/‘Obsession’ one-two punch stand independent.
‘Revolver’ comes in hard from the thunder of ‘DIESEL’, a full minute of churning guitars before the rhythm settles into its chorus, albeit briefly. There’s an interplay that drives the whole album between intense heaviness and soft, airy moments, often interwoven into the same section. ‘Only Ever You’ brings this softer side into its verses, with a heavier, guitar-led riff washing in and out of it. It’s Thornhill at their most melodic, almost poppy at times, leading in to the album’s interlude ‘fall into the wind’. A rarity these days, but not unwelcome here; a single repeated guitar line falling into atmospheric synths that, again, wash over us like waves.
We see that poppier side again on ‘CRUSH’, all synths and drum machine, and soft melodies. This is the quietest the band let themselves get, setting aside live instruments entirely in favour of a more electronic, synth-pop approach. Don’t worry though – ‘under the knife’, following ‘CRUSH’, whispers a grinding rhythm to us in the delay-shifted notes of its opening bars as if to disturb our dreaming and let us know there’s another heavy number about to set in. One final song in the pattern set throughout the album: raw, intense guitars and softer melodies dancing together round a twisted maypole.
‘For Now’ shows Thornhill almost at their softest here, guitars, synths, and vocals with delays washing up against our ears like those same waves we heard in ‘fall into the wind’. The bass is notably absent for almost a full minute and a half, and despite the song getting louder, it avoids the heavy rhythms and accents that make up the rest of the album, instead striking a far more melancholy tone on which we’re left hanging.
‘BODIES’ is a fantastic display of ferocity from start to finish, without ever feeling like it’s posturing. This is tightly written alt-metal that hearkens back to the genre’s roots. If we’ve mentioned Deftones here one time too many, it’s no coincidence. Thornhill come close to dancing in their shadow at times, but never lose their own identity to their influences. ‘BODIES’ does exactly what it sets out to do, and it was well worth the doing.
WILL BRIGHT