Reviews (page 3 of 8)
Very inconsistent album. Some songs are very catchy, others are whatever, but I’d say that the hits outweigh the misses. It’s not a great album, but some enjoyable energetic songs are there. 7/10
Solid indie pop album
Nice mix of rockabilly and roots rock
Album really sounds like 2003 in a good way. I’m surprised that I never heard it before pretty good all in all, but I wasn’t a huge fan of the lead singer’s voice. Random thought I had during this is that there’s a lot of banjo and other instrumentation in the production. If you think about it, it may be wasn’t so crazy when Mumford & Sons seemed to come out of nowhere, but really they were just following along with other instrumentation.
We're digging deep and throwing albums on this list that are $1 in the cd bin at the record store. This is CRAP! Another band from Dublin that never made it in the States and does not deserve a spot on ANY Top 1001 List. The lead song is so annoying I can't even explain. It's like a bad theme song from "Friends: 10 Years Later" when the whole whacky gang all move to Santa Cruz, CA. It never got better after the first song, it's no wonder they never hit it here and fizzled out after 3 albums. This is about as indie sounding as it gets. Really weak vocals, poorly constructed songs, no hooks, no hits, average musically, super repetitive, etc. Train wreck of boring songs... this sounds more like a failed 1993 album than one that came out in 2003. I'll never listen to anything they ever did again. 2 stars for failing so miserably, and feeling like a 1 is too harsh.
Album No. 0204 on my list. I’m not sure I had ever heard of The Thrills, and I had definitely never heard of their album “So Much For The City”. The album cover looked like a group of young British people cosplaying as young American people. Well, a the album sounds like young British indie musicians imagining what music by young American indie musicians would sound like. That is not necessarily a bad thing, though. The music and lyrics are a little cliche-loaded and the singer’s voice is a little over the top “American-sounding”, with an accent that is just a little too much. But the songs themselves are mostly pretty decent, though: fun, little blends of indie, folk, and country. I’ll add “Santa Cruz (You’re Not That Far)”, “Big Sur”, and “On le Horse Town” to my playlist. Solid album, may even increase my rating in the future. 3/5 stars.
Pleasant and unremarkable His voice greats at times 2.5
I haven’t heard of this band. It reminds me a lot of the American band Beulah, especially their great 2001 album The Coast Is Never Clear. It’s a surprising sound from an Irish band, and I would have never guessed they are Irish if I hadn’t read their bio.
woww.. surprisingly pretty good.. was not expecting it to be this good... would slam them on my next road trip... okii.. some of the songs are pretty chill.. nice ., interesting (Not bad)
neat
I read the track titles before listening, and yet I was still somehow surprised by just how much this band wants to be American.
Not a huge fan of this singing style. Also, they’re Irish? Could’ve fooled me. Decent indie/country/western. I really liked the closer. High 3.
This band from Ireland was clearly fascinated by California. I didn't count but seemed like half the songs (or more) mentioned it. I would classify this as an alt-country record. Some of the vocals reminded me of Steve Forbert though. Overall, I thought it was pretty good.
Boring but better than yesterday
Not bad, but not my thing
so i can't beat ana's review which is hilariously on point about how awful this list is and about how nothing this album is, but i can attempt to give a californian perspective because this album is just ridiculous. it is literally just the the band singing about their trip to california. it's embarrassing to hear in a way of like "dude, just relax" if that makes sense. they visit one time and record a whole album about how much they love and miss the concept of california. i'm tugging at my collar. it's a little over-familiar to say the least. absolute drek. get a job. stay away from her (california)!
Robert Dimery is stuck. After having decided that 0 Japanese or Korean albums deserve to be listened to before he dies, he's now 950 songs deep into his reference book. At his fingertips lies a machine capable of searching up almost every album ever recorded. A wealth of interesting and obscure genres to explore, but Robert is interested in none of it. An album from the 80s catches his eye but no, he's already used up his 300 allotted electronic albums Universe Publishing would allow him to include (after his first draft consistented of 900 such albums). Overlooking the legendary likes of Chuck Berry and Neil Diamond, both who have no entries in the book, he instead turns to his second favorite genre- indie music from the British Isles. Seeking to change things up a bit from all the Britpop and English Folk already weighing down the list he googles "Irish Indie music" and chooses randomly from the top 20 albums that appear in the results. "Just 50 more albums to go" he says to himself with a rye smile. This is an absolutely nothing generic 2000s indie album that wasn't even rated well at the time, was not very popular anywhere and influenced nothing. Why is it here.
Alternate universe Flamming Lips.
i definitely don’t hate it and it’s got some good moments but they can’t rlly put together a great song, i definitely don’t think it’s deserving of a place on here
What a terrible pick for my last 1001 album. I would usually give this a 2 but I'm so sad they get this 1.
Wow what a good album! I love all the crazy tones and effects!
2/3. For a bunch of Irish people, they sound surprisingly American in terms of songwriting. Pleasant, not world-changing, but I wouldn’t mind hearing it again.
An album that gets better towards the end. I don’t love the vocals but it’s all right and I do love the organ.
Well…instrumentally this was fantastic. The dude’s voice bugged me tho and I can’t place why. It was like Temu Wayne Coyne
This album is surprisingly good but can't give it more than 3
Very 2000s-California-coded and feels very nostalgic even though I’ve never listened to any of this. Surprised to hear they’re Irish. I don’t understand what is so impactful/influential about this album. It’s like they’re copycatting a culture- would be interested to hear if their other albums have the same sound, but not interested enough to actually listen to them. Despite all of that I can’t give it less than three stars because it is just so nostalgic!
Feels like I should have heard this forever ago, a lot of songs I like but nothing I will remember.
Never heard of these geezers. How can this be top 1001 albums of all time when I haven’t got half a clue who they are? Santa Cruz (You’re not that far): His voice is shithouse. Are you American or Irish you git? This song has left such a bad taste in my mouth, not even gonna bother with ranking the rest of the album.. Big Sur: Don’t steal our sun: Deck chairs and cigarettes: One horse town: Old friends new lovers: Say it ain’t so: Hollywood kids: Just travelling through: Your love is like Las Vegas: Til the tide creeps in:
decent pop writing. instrumentation keeps it interesting moment to moment despite the overall texture being pretty constant.
Enjoyable indie rock album that didn't truly impress.
So, basically it's competently played and performed. I don't mind a weak or lazy vocalist, but this goes beyond that. A put-on American drawl? I hate that. The constant geographical signposting? Competent as the playing is, the lyrics, instrumentation, and production all sound like a costume. Beach Boys. Jayhawks. Byrds. A Bob Ross painting of Laurel Canyon. I recognize "One Horse Town" from somewhere. Sounds like one of the less ingenious songs by Girls. First reaction was this is a benign 3-/2+, but I had to listen to it all and it just emphasizes its faults over and over. 1.5? Should absolutely not be on a list of 1001 must-listen albums. The note in Wikipedia, kinda sums it up: "The song "Say It Ain't So" appeared on US President George W. Bush's iPod in 2005."
Favourite Songs: Deckchairs And Cigarettes
I don't know who these guys are. Never heard of them. Unfortunately, the reason may be because this album wasn't much good. I did like that there was some lap steel guitar. Otherwise, less than average: 2 stars.
Sounds a bit like Black Country, New Road; with it’s complicated compositions and a ‘fake’ sound of old oldness. Ultimately, this album commits the sin of being boring.
I was a big indie kid in the 2000s (literally and metaphorically unfortunately) and bought this album; I have no clue why it's in this list, it wasn't even the best album released that week (Led Zep)
Absolutely not
So much for nothing yes
It was fine, not anything I needed to hear
Really enjoyable somewhat retro LA sound, great melodies and rock or folk rock arrangements.
Total hipster indie rock. You can tell right from the cover. Not sure how many of these slow piano breakdowns I'll be able to take if the ones in the first track keep up. A few tracks in, and I might as well have turned this off after the first one. Pretty lame, high treble oughts hipster indie rock. Then there's the guy's whiney voice... anything but a Thrill, for sure. Not my thing, and why I ignored rock for like a decade starting in late 90s. I can picture exactly the type of bar that used to play shit like this. Then just when you think it's over there's a bonus track. Oh joy. 1/5
The music is nice, but the singing part feels like the singer wants to get us to sleep. I feel like they are talented, but I don't agree with what they managed with that talent.
What exactly is unique about this album?
it was pretty good but the singer sounds like he is doing an owen wilson impression
Ehh this was kind of lame
Musically pretty fun, the vocals got really old really fast though.
wasn't very thrilling
vraiment bien le pb c'est que tu sens que ça a donné naissance à la de la musique bien chiante bien whitos
This list is silly. The Thrills weren't even in the "post-Britpop" B-list. Loads of great acts from the early 00s and you go for the gentle burble of "Just don't go back to Bicester"?? Is there a less California sounding California inspired album? 2 stars because it's not dreadful, but I really didn't need it in my life again.
4/10
Very “indie”. The songs all sound pretty similar, but it’s a decent enough sound. Some nice subtle country on a couple tracks.
I didn’t enjoy this very much. Found it kinda boring and samey
I haven’t heard of the trills before the album is ok nothing special a few alright songs better first half of an album than second half and the songs towards the end just sounded very similar
The biggest thrill I had was my decision to turn this off.
Enjoyable but not something that I will return to again and again.
actually horrid album. i'd hate to meet the kind of person this is for
Inoffensive indie rock. Not super interesting but there are worse albums.
It’s.. fine. The accent is killing me tho
A completely blah album. The mix of slow country and rock does not work well for them, also singing about moving to a city gets boring to listen to after a while.
Loved this album. Should have been a bigger band. This is CSNY alongside the Monkees!!
Odd choice for the list but heyho, it's not a bad album but clearly a product of it's influences and never rises above it. I saw these guys on their first UK tour way back when and they were good fun live, but seeing a new band in a 100cap venue is a different vibe to suggesting it's one of the 1000 best albums of all time
This album sucks. When the last song came on and it was 10 minutes long I wanted to kill myself. The hidden track was a jump scare and, predictably, sucked like the rest of this album.
Starts off strong and then just gets really boring and monotonous Likes: Big Sur, Don’t Steal Our Sun
28/02/2026 Another album I couldn't get on with. It just wasn't very good. Spotify listeners: 74.1k
Better than I remember but still very plinky plonky plinky plonky poo. Nice in the background but gets very samey.
Ehhhhhh. On one hand, I can't give this a 1 - there are pleasant, catchy melodies and a reasonable charm. On the other hand, I absolutely despise this kind of "Let's pretend we live in America" vibe. British and Irish bands have often had a US influence, but this is practically wearing a costume. From the surfer references from a group that looked like they never surfed, that iriitating pronunciation of 'Santa Cruz'... there were a few similar bands around this time eg Cosmic Rough Riders, and they never lasted, because they ran out of other people's ideas to steal. This gets a 2, and just barely.
This is pretty nice. Nothing special but I liked it
pretty good, love the slower songs. i can already feel this album fleeting from my memory. so either this shit boring or im getting dementia, idk tbh
convinced me to give it 1 star in under two seconds. instead of writing a bunch of shitty songs about California they should have used the recording budget on plane tickets. music: hated. (⌐■_■)
Shouldn’t a band called The Thrills be at least a little bit not boring
Okay, so this album is kind of a mixed bag. On the one hand, it's a cool, sunny indie pop (some might say landfill indie) record from the early 2000s, capturing that California vibe perfectly, even though it's Irish guys doing it. The melodies are nice, the music is chill, and songs like "Santa Cruz" and "Big Sur" are definitely catchy as hell. It's a bit nostalgic and almost too sickly sweet. But, it hasn't held up super well. It feels more than a little generic, they were definitely one of the weaker "The" bands that came out around this time. The singer's voice can be a bit much, and all the place names get a bit tiresome. It's alright for a lazy day, but not a must listen level classic, you know?
I had this album when I was like 12 and remember trying to convince myself I liked it so I hadn't wasted my money. Two decades later it still doesn't really get better than the singles.
Enjoyed this honestly a lot more than i thought i would. The singing style nearly put me straight off but idk it really grew on me and i liked instrumentals/overall cheekiness.
Not a fave
Soooo breathy soooo 2003, a xylophone?? Love the idea of a hidden track if you had been listening to this on a CD player but alas Spotify.
The more I listened to this the more I hated it. I couldn’t get behind the affect of the lead singer’s voice, every song sounded the same and not in a “sonically cohesive” way, and The Thrills somehow managed to make me hate the greatest instrument of all time (the tambourine). In theory this should’ve been right up my alley, if only for its wistful dreaming of the Californian coast but why you would choose to listen to this album over anything else is beyond me.
I knew one song by The Thrills growing up (Whatever Happened To Corey Haim? - great song) and it’s not on this album! So I was surprised this was significant enough to make the list I quite enjoyed the vibe, kinda mame me think of Phantom Planet California which I guess is a similar time Overall I didn’t think it was bad but I wondered what made it stand out from other early 2000s indie albums which I feel like may have aged better?
Good but not wowed
Dang, mad I didn’t discover earlier.
It grew on me by the end tbh
Not for me, sounded really thin
Big Sur er jo bra. Resten av albumet er tregere og ikke i nærheten.
Enjoyable.
I loved this so much. It's completely in my wheelhouse. I hadn't heard of this band, except for the song Big Sur, which was on the TV show The OC. I hadn't heard that song in years and I really like it, but the entire album is totally in my wheelhouse. The instrumentation and harmonies are lush and the singer works for me. This is probably the most I've liked an entire album on first listen on this entire journey (this is #408 for me). Great find.
Boring, whiny, corny, honkytonk in a very cringe way. Wholly uninteresting. Very glad to have learned this album was dropped from updated editions of this list, no idea how it made it on in the first place
Man, this is wholly unnecessary. I wouldn’t even call this band flash in the pan, they may as well not existed. Why is this here?
A little Flaming Lips. A little folk. They've definitely adopted California over their Irish roots.
very mid
This was a pleasant album. Nothing really grabbed my attention, but overall the music wasn't bad.
I was torn between a 3 or a 4 for this one as I did genuinely enjoy it but I also found it oddly grating at the same time. Something about the record seems affected and insincere to me; maybe it's the ostensibly Irish singer's weird faux American accent. It's certainly a fun album in spite of that though. If the style of the album cover didn't give it away, it soon becomes obvious as you start listening how influenced these guys were by the big 60s pop rock acts. It's far from a novel sound but I feel like The Thrills gave it just enough of their own spin to make the album worth listening to. That said, I don't really see what's so special about the album that earned it a spot on the list. It's not really unique, nor was it noticeably acclaimed or popular, and it doesn't seem to have been particularly influential or have a big cult following either. Strange. Favourite tracks: One Horse Town, Big Sur, Santa Cruz
Remarkably unthrilling! To be fair, the repeating lyrics thing is a general pet peeve of mine and they leaned pretty hard on that.
Another day, another indie album, from Ireland this time no less. There’s a few OK songs like ‘Santa Cruz’, ‘Big Sur’, ‘Don’t Steal Our Sun’, ‘One Horse Town’, and ‘You’re Love Is Like Las Vegas’. These are all fine enough when they are on, but they never linger in the memory, a lot like the album as a whole. As soon as it finishes, you forget about it.
Begrudgery is a national sport in Ireland so I have to slag my compatriots a bit. So imagine the Beach Boys if they were from Bray or Bundoran (shit Irish seaside towns) and not California. Or a bunch of Irish music students from college on their J1 visa to the US - this is a rite of passage amongst Irish college students to spend a summer working in the US. Actually seems the band did decamp there to record album. Band is quite derivative with shades of 70s country rock Big Star, Byrds, Steely Dan etc and more contemporary music like the Shins, Teenage Fanclub and a tiny dose of Elliot Smith (but not nearly enough) And the split is 75/25 Weighted towards the older stuff. Singer's falsetto is annoying and some songs seem like that they are all chorus (looking at you Santa Cruz) That said some nice melodies and hooks and couldn't help but do some toe-tapping along to the music. 3 out of 5 stars
These gals love Santa Fe. Favourite track: Deskchairs and Cigarettes
An album perfectly suited for that insufferable dork you knew in high school who wanted to get a mustache tattooed on the inside of their index finger. What is this album even doing here? There are two good songs and the rest is the worst kind of 2000s-era pop rock.
Unexceptional. Not sure why it is on this list.
this was terrible!
Groupe inconnu. Pop pas désagréable (+1) en musique de fond, sans plus. Aussi vite oublié qu'écouté. =>2/5
Sounds like the time it came from, which I like
Santa Cruz (You're Not That Far) Big Sur
Indie Rock llevado al extremo de la paciencia
Pretty repetitive and overall just kind of annoying.
Blah
Mercury Prize nomination??? For THIS???? One wonders what was going ON in 2003. Honestly I thought about 1 star here but that's a little meaner than I feel like being tonight
These guys pick the subject of the songs by throwing darts at a map of California. "Let's see how long it takes to get on an episode of The O.C. with one of these bad boys." The whisper singing with a fake southern accent gets really obnoxious, really quickly. They really want to be The Flaming Lips. I like the song Big Sur, but the rest was pretty meh. They probably try to rock those felt flat-brimmed cowboy hats with a lot of shit on them. Oh, and the obligatory “we got this but not Weezer?!”
The first song had me thinking it might be okay but there was nothing here that really caught me. Just mediocre and not memorable
I find it no small coincidence that this album was released the same year as the Iraq War. I assume the CIA-funded research into torture resulted in this album. Further proof: The Thrills never released an album after the ending of the enhanced interrogation program. Coincidence? Probably. But this album sucks.
The Thrills, huh. Decidedly not delivering on the name (Yeah, I was champing at the bit to delivery that absolute ZINGER). Everything is great except for the weird whisper singing of the vocalist. I think the Eels are the only group that can get away with that. Every song just made me so mad because it was somehow tedious and time wasting to listen to this album. I felt a brief glimmer of hope at the very end both when the vocals started to speak up and when the track ended.
Jeg kjeder meg ihjel. Tipper dette var den best likte plata på NISS i 2003. Alle i bandet har prima dra-til-tryner.
Really, really good. Had never heard of them before, glad to now. Great album to just listen to hanging outside.
The Beach Boys at home. But in Ireland. And in 2003. Meh. "Big Sur" was an enjoyable listen, but I don't care to listen to a California-themed album in the 2020's, particularly when I'm older than said album.
Eh. It’s alright
Kinda sounds like a socal version of mid era belle and Sebastian. This is not an endorsement.
Hmm, I didn't end up saving any songs, mainly because I thought they were pretty boring. Everything was consistently just fine. I feel like for me to enjoy this kind of music, I need to either connect with the lyrics or the bands voice needs to blow me away and neither of those things happened for me. "Say it ain't so" is the only track that kind of got my attention but even then they strayed from the starting melody that drew me in. I'm throwing in an extra star because everything is about the Bay Area.
This is a band from the 2000's whose name starts with "The" and they remind me a bit of The Shelters, which was a band that Tom Petty took under his wing. This kind of 60's-inflected West Coast-sounding indie surf rock is something that I am inherently drawn to. Whether it is Twin Peaks, The Shelters, The Donkeys, GospelbeacH, Carpool Tunnel, Grand Canyon, or a more rock-oriented band like Wilderado...I enjoy this kind of music. Saying that, I remain a bit confused why THIS GROUP would stand out from the rest of the pack. I get that they are Irish and being British or Irish gives a band a leg up in this book, but I just listed a bunch of bands who I think are doing very similar things to The Thrills. Maybe the editors of this book just absolutely love an Irish group came over and did "American" music just as well as some American bands do. Many of the comp bands on Spotify are already on this list, even if some of them lean more towards New Wave and/or Brit-pop. The latter half of the album goes a bit towards too dreamy and can sound a bit samesy and lazy. In terms of my being glad I heard this album, I very much am happy because this is music for me. But I can add this album to a larger list of "music for me" that I cannot do with some of the other artists I discovered from this book. When I listen to all of those artists, The Thrills are an addition and not something better than what I already have heard. The album gets by on vibes a lot and so maybe there is something to be said for that. My favorite songs were: Santa Cruz (You're Not That Far) Big Sur Don't Steal Our Sun Deckchairs and Cigarettes One Horse Town Say It Ain't So Your Love is Like Las Vegas
ahaha I remember listening to big sur in the car while driving through big sur in 2010. love the vibes. zero cali bias here whatsoever
I liked the vibe. It's very, very, very californian though.
The music reminds me of something Elvis Costello might write. I like this guy's vocal a lot more than Costello's though. Reminds me of ELO's music, and Jeff Lynne's vocals in particular. Also pretty Beatlesque, especially the opening track, Santa Cruz (You're Not That Far). Having multiple contrasting sections clustered into a 4-minute piece is very reminiscent of late-60s song experimentation. Those backing vocals, particularly towards the end of the song, are absolutely something Lennon and McCartney might've dreamt up. Big Sur, with its organs, spacey synths, and dreamy, positive atmosphere, also screams of early-70s musical wonder. It's an almost euphoric track, and easily the best of the lot. Don't Steal Our Sun is texturally very similar, though this time it emphasises piano and distorted guitars over the organ. I'm certain at this point that The Thrills took major inspiration from ELO. In general, it seems like The Thrills do better with their feel-good sound. Old Friends, New Lovers is fine, but it's a pretty significant drop in quality from the tracks preceding it. Hollywood Kids and Just Travelling Through are even worse – possibly the worst two on the record. Another complaint of mine is that the album just isn't impressive at all for the 21st century. By 2003 we'd gotten the entirety of the most iconic parts of the grunge and alt-rock movements, seen the rise of EDM, the golden age of hip-hop... and now, in 2003, the same year as Elephant and Hail to the Thief and Quebec and Velocity : Design : Comfort, we get... Well, it's regressive country-pop. There's no way of splitting hairs that could ever make this album "impressive" for its time – nor, judging by the number of streams, a musical milestone. There isn't much justification for it making the list other than "it sounds pretty good". 3/5 Key tracks: Big Sur, Don't Steal Our Sun, One Horse Town
Fine. Love the cover art, the music is decent too. Don't love the vocalist.
Pretty decent album. Not super memorable after a day or two, but very nice to listen through. 3.5/5
This is #day540 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… yet again, I have no idea why you'd have to hear this before you die. I mean, how the fuck is this more essential than, say, Slowdive's Souvlaki, which isn't on the original list at all? It's like the same song over and over again. Way too carefree indie-schmindie for my liking to boot. This is a 2 out of 5. Looking forward to #day541.
Boring
it gives me the thrills realising that this fellas did so much for the city
Første gang jeg hører denne plata. Hører gjerne igjen.
Musikken e i og for sæ helt ok, men at noen har sagt «vi må få oppdatert den boka så vi får inn den The Thrills-skiva» e jo helt sinnsykt. Huske Big Sur fra The OC-soundtracket, men har aldri hørt nokka om dem. Verken i 2003 eller seinere.
Hørt på en rolig torsdags morgen. Veldig 2003-coded, sykt hyggelig musikk. Kommer nok til å gjenbesøke denne.
Slentrende og sjarmerende, men veldig ensformig.
Muito gostosinho, com energia de fã do Wilco e dos Beach Boys. Só é um pouco esquecível - as músicas se tornaram bem parecidas para mim. Não curti os momentos country.
big whatever, some country and rock mixed, maybe trying to be like The Beatles
Never heard of this but I really like it
More like a 3.5. First couple songs were swinging fun. Like the Rolling Stones and the Flaming Lips found a way together. Latter half of the album was eh.
I enjoyed elements but they sound like the result of an AI prompt
Not bad, but not great. I should probably feel more favorably about this album, since sun-drenched west coast vibes should capture my youth.
Wilco whispering and Smashing Pumpkin sweetness. Cali set to harmonica, and pretend it's the 70s? What's going on with the Beatles haircuts on the album cover? I am confused but pleased. Behold the fried peanut butter-bacon-banana sandwich.
Is it groundbreaking? No. Does it instantly take me back to cruising around my senior year of high school? Yes. Enjoyable, fun, slightly elevated indie pop music. She's a 3.
as mid as it gets
2.5/5 It's just rather dull
maybe a 5 y'all are wrong as hlel
another piece of evidence that the irish are shit musicians. do not let the propaganda from big pub fool you
Thought I was listening to Grandaddy at first. It kinda sounds like the last remnants of the 90s spilling over.
I hate that I like it, but I do
This is so wet; never was a band more poorly named. And it's comical that almost every track references California; did their manager hand them a Lonely Planet guidebook and say "write about that, lads"?
Not my favourite but there are some hidden gems
Bom álbum, mas não acho que me marcou a ponto de eu querer revistar ele futuramente.
Musica para cayetanos (no hay nada mas que ver la portada) no soporté.
The vocals are the weakest part for me, but I couldn't help but enjoy it nevertheless.
What have I done to deserve this bland, whiny, boring indie pop shite? And I like whiny indie pop.
Lana & the OC would love this
Happy fun time indie album
Windy California road, performed by Irish
1/21/26: this is sleepy music. 5.5/10
The album cover says it all; bunch of pale folk in a cold field in Ireland singing about California sunshine.
This isa struggle for me, as I see very little value in there. I get mad, at the number of great records from other countries we could have had, instead of this very run of the mile 00's indie thing. Every song sounds the same, (and that sound is lame). It was really not for me, I listened to it, immediately forgot it, and I can't seem to think what people will like about this.
I missed this somehow I guess I was too busy being in college but I love this.
Pleasant little album.
Know their singles, but the album didn't really add much beyond. Pleasant
I’ve never heard of The Thrills. Definitely reminds me of bands I listened to in college during that era—some songs remind me a lot of the band Athlete. Not bad. Good background listening I suppose, but not exceptionally memorable.
.
I was bored. Forgot to keep listening. Couldn't remember where I left off. Such a repetitious boring sound to me.
You only get it if you like those indie sounds of the early 2000s and have a love of California. Otherwise it’s not for you.
Ok
So Much For Forgetting about the Thrills.
Fuck it, I enjoyed it. It was wannabe cali frothy indie shite but it was nice to listen to
It's mostly alright
Eh, I don’t know. The music wasn’t bad but this band is kind of…hokey? I liked that many of the songs felt like summer but overall this was kind of lame.
3.5, but I have a soft spot for this because I got it when it came out so it’s been with me a while. I basically never put it on - or even remember about it - but this was a nice stroll - some Beach Boys-y harmonies and a nice Southern California vibe.
Were these guys on The OC soundtrack? Somehow a few of these songs were familiar. I dig it, kinda Beatlesque harmonies at times. 3.5
Surprisingly I enjoyed this a lot.
Favourites 1. Old Friends, New Lovers 2. 'Til The Tide Creeps In 3. Don't Steal Our Sun Least Favourite Plans
surprise like!
This is like a fun smile with bright energy.. just not a life-changer. Good for a lazy Sunday drive. Spins: 1 Playlist Additions - Santa Cruz (You're Not That Far) - Big Sur - Don't Steal Our Sun - One Horse Town
I Not a bad alternative band from the early 2000’s. Different sound.
Ik vond het begin best leuk. Later was het veel hetzelfde en vond ik zijn stem erg zeikerig. Werd een beetje vervelend
Kinda whatever
Overall Rating - 2.95/5 (5.91/10). For a band called "The Thrills," there were sure a lot of easy listening and forgettable ballads. This album feels like a 90's idea of what 60's pop.
Gets some points for being accepting that indie rock is soft lad music but I do struggle with his voice
I remember the singles but first time listen to the album. A charming little thing somewhere between mercury rev and teenage fanclub. Sweet little slices of pop but not quite memorable enough to push into must listen territory
This one fell flat for me. I didn't dislike the album exactly, but it felt like a really surface-level understanding of a small corner of America that is masquerading as something more profound. The music itself is fine yet forgettable. I don't really understand why this one's on the list instead of a stronger Indie entry. Favorite track: "Big Sur" because it's funny that I got this just a few days after an album by The Monkees
Overall pretty good i don’t normally like when bands sing about the literal meaning of the song idk why i like to have at least some depth. but it was good nothing crazy probably would only listen to about 1 or 2 songs again 4-10
Didn’t do much for me
half vote more just to disagree with ilconfo
Initially this had me bewildered and skipping, but it ended up being suitably light weight and catchy to accompany & brighten a crappy work day. The main singers voice isn't very strong, it reminds somewhat of Sparklehorse rockier numbers. I can't see what part this album can truly be considered as one of the best 1089 ever, but it ended up being enjoyable and inoffensive enough. However, the band seemed to run out of puff after a few albums and were as inconsequential as they were destined to be. For me One Horse Town saves it but Big Sur and Santa Cruz are really overrated poor openers.
Not my style. ★★
Idk was just very meh. Way too repetitive lyrics for my taste and, I guess they were trying to do a 60s beach boys thing? Shrug
Thoughts before listening: No idea. Looks like this is from the 00s so I'm going to guess its some sort of British indie rock band. Review: Yeah I guess I got it right. For some reason a bunch of their songs are about California? Weird subject matter for a Dublin-based band. Seems a little contrived quite frankly like they are trying to emulate the 70s California rock scene...or maybe just that band with the dude from Rushmore in it that did the theme song for the OC. Anyway, this is pretty bad. Not really sure why these guys are on here. 1-star
Talk about an album completely lacking in thrills. The singer sounds the exact same on every track from start to finish. He absolutely lacks any emotion on this album. I spent the entire time listening to this just baffled that this was even included on this list.
This was fine enough, but more than 20 years on I question how influential they were. And I have given some unknown bands on this list high scores, but they have to be something really special that I feel should be better known to get that. Not sound exactly like the Stereophonics, Travis, and Starsailor. And then the back half of the album devolved into some pseudo-country bullshit and I’m all the way out
Not my cup of tea. Some ok moments but mostly middling and the singer’s voice annoys me quite a bit.
Balance perfecto para los fans de bob esponja y yo la tengo, gran album pa desayunar en invierno
intensely my shit aka mi mero mole
Really nice
i'm born and raised californian, this is what everyone not from california who is obsessed with the state sounds like. not for me but good background music.
solidni indi prosjek, pomalo dilanovski. sve u svemu okej, ali ništa posebno. ne bi mi nimalo smetalo
Meh
i really liked this they have such a beach boys vibe
Meget 00’er, men fedt
Fin popalbum, men intet der skiller sig ud
I didn’t really connect with the album in my first two hearings of it. Just repeating city names felt off to me.
301225 14:03 3
3.5
4.5
3.5
*So Much for the City* I gave this about the same rating that I did back in the 2003 dive. I really do like the songs on this and I like the arrangements and I even like the harmony I think what really keeps it from being a stellar four and a half star record is the vocals. He has that millennial kind of cross between whine and Whisper vocal that is really not my favorite style., and I'm not saying he has a bad voice because I don't think that's it I just think it's that style which I heard a lot around the aughts that was just never a really good sticking point for me. (8.5) ★★★★
Nice early 00s indie pop with americana tendencies. 4 stars
I'm not too into this. It kind of sounds like if Death Cab For Cutie was more into California pop, which is probably something a lot of people will find appealing, but it's not for me. 2.5 stars.
3.5
Can’t buy a Thrills… except in a charity shop. I’m flicking through my 2011 edition of 1001 and this album is nowhere to be seen. It was everywhere in 2003 but seems to have fallen off a cliff since. Shame because this is incredibly sunny, breezy, California-inspired sunshine indie pop with a lot of sterling, hookwormy singles stacked at the front. Any song that slams The Monkees is a great one which means that Big Sur is a great one. Vocalist Conor Deasy has a bit of a twee whiney whispery delivery - somewhere between Wayne Coyne and Owen Wilson - but I would rather hear this than anything by the Flaming Lips. The back half of the album does tend to slip into merely pleasantville territory but One Horse Town and Say It Ain’t So are other strong highlights outside of the supreme first three. So much for being Ex-1001. I would support pushing this back onto the 1001 list.
Always want to like this more than I do. That said, I do like this album quite a bit. High 3.5 stars that I’m going to give 4 on this site.
Un disco que te alegra cualquier día. Brilla como el solo de california y no pasa el tiempo por él. Tampoco es que sea la quinta maravilla. Pasa un poco como con los de Travis. Su mejor canción, sin duda Big Sur. Sin embargo suenan un poco repetitivos en Don't Steal Our Sun, o Santa Cruz (You're Not That Far), sus otros sencillos. El problema es que prefiero a los escoceses Mojave 3 (o Del Amitri), por ejemplo. Tuvieron otro segundo disco Let's Bottle Bohemia igual de bueno e incluso un tercero, que pasó desapercibido, y se acabó.
Didn't think it was possible for a band to be more obsessed with California than the Red Hot Chili Peppers are...
Never seen the appeal. I understand it is music that moves millions of people, but it is sounds super pedestrian to me.
I like this. Will probably come back to it, bit it hasn't blown me away. Love the 60s vibe, but it might hit better little tweer, like The Brunettes.
I wouldn't consider this a great album, but I did like it.
Meh
The twangy nostalgia that The Thrills brings in this record is appealing. Great harmonies and entertaining songs. Unluckily, the thrill disappears by track 8… you’ll hit the filler wall. I’m rating it with a 4 because it has great tunes in the first half and because the mere fact of an album like this being released on the XXI century is a delight
5.8/10
Irish 2000s rock. A bit too jaunty and cheesy for my taste.
kinda nice
I’m from the area nearby Santa Cruz so I feel I’m giving them extra for including the city in a song title. Otherwise a decent album.
Fine album.
Ok but nothing memorable
Nah. Alternates between ok, to oof this is bad, to boring and back again. The world doesn't need any more songs about California.
Don't like the voice, nor the music.
Ok, but nothing special.
Not a fan of this one.
*2003. Irish indie rock. *Bizarre lyrics all about California or western America, but with an Irish accent... *I mostly like it. Chill indie rock. But then there’s a little bit of Beach Boys 60s/70s influence too, in a good way. RATING - 7/10
'Big sur' is glorious pop. The rest of the album is half decent, half throwaway but it has a great vibe.
Somebody said this sounds like a boring version of the Flaming Lips and I couldn't agree more. Another solid 3 - there was nothing about this album I hated but also nothing I loved.
Not as much fun as the other album on the list.
This was such a wonderful, chill easy rock album. It was perfect for the work I was doing while listening. It was a little bit same-y, which I usually don't like, but somehow worked for this album.
Not thrilling
Basically, The Beach Boys with an Irish country flair. It's not for me
Hip and fun. Would love this when it comes on but would probably not seek it out either.
A mix of skilled and unskilled musicians. Judging by the album cover they didn’t want to leave anyone out. Didn’t love the vocals. This type of album encourages others with insufficient talent. Album concept = sing about different cities in California to give the impression that the songs are not all the same. But it’s not a 1.
Kind of boring
It sounds like some kids watched a few movies about California, heard some songs and then looked at a map to write them.
No. 48 Santa Cruz is a great song. Its pleasant, but not mind blowing.
rv
good stuff. Love some '00s indie. Kind of sounds like a more normal flaming lips
Let me lead this off with saying I do like this record and have owned it since it originally released. Now with that out of the way, this should not be on a list of albums "you must hear before you die". It's honestly a bit of a snooze regardless some beachy California vibes, carefree and catchy hooks, but the things that make this album good have been done before and by better. Honestly, the vocals aren't great and don't match the energy of the rest of the music, certainly too much banjo in general. Irish indie pop cosplaying as the California coast Score is absolutely biased, because as I said, I like this record, certainly not based on merit for it's inclusion on this list. Best track: "Don't Steal Our Sun"
Not bad.
Pretty fun for a Bay Area listener, with tracks like "Santa Cruz (You're Not That Far)" and "Big Sur". Not something I'd likely return to, but has some good energy. Road trip energy.
very solid record, was just a good vibe
This album is a love letter to California. Not the California in America. Nor the California of Hollywood movies or on the OC or 90210 either. Or the one of the Beach Boys, Black Flag or the Minutemen. This album is a homage to the California that only exisits in the minds of kids that grew up in cold damp towns on the banks of the Irish Sea.
I really liked this! I thought it was fun and super entertaining! It felt fun and fresh. Vocals were great! Actual rating...3.5 Liked Songs: "Santa Cruz (You're Not That Far)" , "Big Sur" , "Don't Steal Our Sun" , "Deckchairs And Cigarettes" , "One Horse Town" , "Say It Ain't So" , "Just Traveling Through" , "Your Love Is Like Las Vegas" , " 'Til The Tide Creeps In"
I liked this 3.75
This is terrible. This might be the absolute peak of the hipster shit. Banjos and beards and tight rolled jeans, and high pitched country-adjacent whining. I did not like it.
Indie pop about a trip. I didn't hate it but I definitely won't be listening to this again
Decent album, reminded me a lot of the Flaming Lips. But I can't actively remember any of the songs, so it was a little forgettable.
Dismal, no interest at all
Take Big Sur out and the rest is instantly forgettable. Pleasant enough, but does it really merit a place on 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die? Probably not.
2.5 rounded up to 3/5 for this bland early 2000s softboy and his 90 friends
I am not convinced by this. It had some nice moments but didn’t touch me.
Me agradaron sus vibes
Reminded me of Rooney
i eat this stuff up. they have that The Verve quality of making music that sounds nostalgic even though i don’t have any history with the group. it just feels warm and easy and like it’d be great to listen to underneath some quiet chatter with people you care about.
If this is the top 1001 albums this one has to be #1001
Omg la quantité de bouses que je me tape depuis la semaine passée est iconoclaste, peu importe ce que ça veut dire
Another reviewer commented this band is what would happen if the Flaming Lips never ever took drugs and now I can't unhear it
Not my cup of coffee, but ok if you like indie rock.
Альбом понравился - всякое инди с фолком и прочим.
Not for me
Zuhause, Gerstetten, Deutschland. Schönes Album.
So much meh
Don't really get it?
Худший! за долгое время (а может и в целом) в списке альбом. Мучительная подъебка под Флэйминг Липс. Лучшая песня - Deckchairs And Cigarettes.
Ok
This is extremely plain. Can't wrap my head around the reason why it is included in this list. Amazingly boring. And to think I liked "Big Sur" when it first came out... Well, I was 12, so it shouldn't say much...
2.5
2.5
6/10… irish rock / country / *2004
Very not memorable.
..
Don’t know anything about this band. Screams California (but apparently they are Irish?). First off, I really don’t like the higher pitched slightly whiny vocals. Lyrics are bland. Music that’s not all that interesting and borders on cheesy in spots. They sound like a dumbed down Soul Asylum on happy pills. One Horse Town was almost catchy and not too bad. But overall this is a loser for me.
I totally forgot about the thrills until today and have seen them live more than once at festivals. Dull then dull now, so bland it sounds like a bad pastiche of folk rock.
Yeah I mean...it's certainly indie and listenable, just an nice album, no thrills.
Big Flaming Lips vibe with more assured vocal style and less interesting ideas. The first two tracks are nice and gave me hope but the rest of the album feels like watching someone else’s holiday pictures. I didn’t hate it but it’s more boring than it had to be.
It was an easy listen. I debated a 3 or a 4, but the mixing on the main singer's voice bothered me. He felt far away, and almost overpowered by the instruments. So while I enjoyed it, and I feel like high school me would have really been into it, I'm going to go with a 3.
Mushy man rock. Not quite Ben Folds but solid.
Comfortably familiar. Maybe a little to uniform
This was a fun discovery. Exactly the kind of find I was hoping by doing this.
Eh
Had this one on in the background while I applied for jobs. Perfect application for a probably forgettable record.
Good album. Didnt know them, disnt expect much. Songs have a few genre mixed like indie, country and psych rock but the songs were too alike except one which was placed perfectly to breaknup the monotony of the album. A good new band doing the late 60s thing but not really better than the top of that era. Fun and different but not lifechanging
Good music and band.
I really liked this one. Didn’t appreciate it much on a first listen but on a second listen it grew on me. Occasionally found the lyrics a bit repetitive but I enjoyed the instrumentation and the vocal style. The Monkees reference made me laugh. Fav song: Old Friends, New Lovers Least fav: Hollywood Kids
Decent album but not amazing. Sounds a bit like owl city which I like. I really like the cover as well. Specific rating - 4.0 Fav song- Santa Cruz (You’re not that far) Least fav- Hollywood kids
Fun! Think they should have kept the old band name- The Cheating Housewives! Makes you nostalgic for a time where America was the cool place where movies were set and not the dystopian place in the news. Favourite song: Say It Ain't So Least: Your Love is Like Las Vegas
Love the male / female harmonies. They add a real warmth that is otherwise missing in my opinion. Most of the tracks are decent without being special. Bright guitars, melodic pop rock hooks. Not groundbreaking but there are a few special moments. But for me they're not quite The Shins and they're just not quite The Coral. Kind of Magic Numbersesque. Favourite track - Big Sur. 7/10
3 fun indie with an older 60s vibe
Irish indie-pop songs about . . . California? Hmmm. Sounds a bit like Phantom Planet, but not as good. Off-brand Phantom Planet. Overall, not objectionable, but kinda meh.
I could probably accept the twee nature of this band, but I just don’t like the vocals. The guy’s voice bugs me. The name checking of various California locations gets tiresome, too. I listened to this back when it came out as I recall it being pretty well reviewed. I didn’t get it then, and things haven’t changed despite a few nice moments.
I liked this pretty well, especially the first song and One Horse Town, but could have used a bit more power in this pop. And too much of the lead vocal had a wispy gut-shot quality that I wasn't crazy about. Still, I'll probably check out some more by these guys.
2.5/5 - Innocuous and twee California songs. I don't have a whole lot to say about this album, other than there's a whole lot of early 2000s indie that I'd put above this on the list. It was fine, but not essential listening.
I'm probably being a little harsh here. But to me this lead singer's voice overlaps with that of the guy from the flaming lips in an ugly venn diagram
This album had the advantage of being released around the time when the first list was made. While it was considered essential in 2005, I would not expect it to be on the 1001 albums list if it was made today. This album is not Lindy. The music proper is fine, but nothing I would want to listen to again. My favorite track was the hidden one. I liked the spacey synth and the old novelty of hidden tracks.
A little confused by the country influence that sort of creeps in during Old Friends New Lovers and becomes full force in Say it Ain’t So and Hollywood Kids. I loved Deckchairs and Cigarettes though. Conor Deasy’s voice is hit or miss, though it has hits!
I didn't hate it, but I definitely wasn't lovin it. I wasn't big on the vocals in this track though I did enjoy the harmonies at times. Instrumental parts were good, though, there were sometimes I felt like it was a little over the top. There were just times it felt like they were REALLY leaning into the indie/folk side of things and it just felt a little comically overdone at times. The notable Legacy listed on the wiki page being that it was on Bush's iPod in 2005 was pretty funny
i was so warm to this on first listen, but the second time, it just didn't click as well. i don't have much to say. as far as the growing blend of folk inspired/pop/indie/general alternative sounds are concerned, this isn't necessarily breaking new ground, but ireland needed a musical win (i guess? idk), and this is totally it for me. it's just easy to listen to, you know? it's a fun album. more albums need to be fun. don't give me sophisticated bullshit that i have to """understand""" to enjoy. give me more of this sweetness and simplicity. but maybe make it more interesting? i dunno. this album falls prey to the unfortunate "it all kinda sounds the same" trend. One review from this website maligns this one as "Ben Folds meets Death Cab with a juvenile SoCal twist", and it was meant as an insult. i honestly can't think of a better compliment for what this is and what it's trying to do. not *everything* has to be cutting edge, you know? so it has that going for it. i like death cab; i like ben folds. i like this, too; i just don't love it. so nothing profound to say. this album didn't rock my world. but it's good, and i'll definitely listen to some tracks again.
I think I would've really liked this album if it was sung by someone else, but the whisper singing coming outta this guy really takes me out of it. Ironically enough, for a band called The Thrills, they sure seem to be struggling to provide any for me. The instrumentation was fun, and I loved the banjo pickin in the background. The steel guitar swells are a good time. Hollywood Kids has some slick organ playing in the background. I thought it was neat how they predicted MacOS 11 with Big Sur, being as though this album was probably produced on Puma (maybe Jaguar if they were bleeding edge). Highlights: 'Old Friends, New Lovers', the banjo player, Hollywood Kids's intro/instrumental breaks (it went away once the singer came in dammit)
This album has shaken my faith in the Irish people.