Reviews (page 6 of 7)
Not bad
I used to really like big sur when I was a teenager but that album was painful
Thrills? With a name like that you better bring it. This was nothing new or exciting.
Not bad, It reminds me to Flaming Lips, but worse. Dull.
Reminded be of Coldplay, its bland as white bread and just kind of waffles on till it abruptly ends. Its there....but I no clue why I needed to hear this before I died
Deeply forgettable indie twee mush, though kudos for being good imitators of such a sound.
Nothing compels here. Awards mean nothing. Look at the list of people who never won a Grammy. So album of the year in 2003 and nothing since doesn’t impress. Neither do the songs. Dull. Kind of predictable. Apart from being Irish there’s nothing here that makes them standout from at least another albums that really are doubtful placements on this list. I’m giving it two because I feel bad for being harsh but it’s not interesting enough to be a travesty. But when you look at the great Irish rock bands - thin Lizzy, Them, Boomtown Rats, early to mid U2, Cranberries, The Blades, and a few others - these guys just don’t stack up. Where’s Tonic for the Troops by the Boomtown Rats? The rest of the bands are represented (except maybe not Them, or the blades though Van Morrison is). Tonic is a far superior album. This is a must miss. 2/5. Not interesting enough for a 1.
If you look up mediocre in the dictionary, this album would come up as its description.
This album came out about 35 years late.
Somehow sing-songy and pretentious at the same time.
The only thing with less edge than this album is a sphere.
smells like dry grass something to play in a coffee shop and not absorb in any meaningful way
This was kinda lame but the second song, Big Sur, was definitely on The OC which unlocked a whole lot of memories of me climbing through vibrator Ashley’s bedroom window Dawson’s Creek style to watch her OC dvd box sets and I was obsesssseddd with Seth Cohen wow he was so cute. Man, I wanted to be rich and live in California.
Hadn't heard of this band or any of these songs and found them pretty cheesy and boring. Deckchairs and Cigarettes really made me cringe, such self-conscious music with actually so little to say. I guess the music was technically good? Really did not enjoy the singer's voice though.
As someone who lives in California it is odd to hear a 2003 band from Ireland singing about Santa Cruz, Big Sur and UCLA beaches. The nods to The Monkeys and the Beach Boys are there and the songs are a refreshingly upbeat addition to my day. Glad we put a smile on your face. A good time was had listening here. Unfortunately not part of the top 250 Albums Ever Made, but glad they got this recognition.
Sort of blank and vapid cutesy aspirations to the Mamas and the Papas and the Monkees (whom they name check, of course). Sweet for the first half of the first song and cloying all the rest of the way.
Musically it was good and I really liked the last song, but the singers voice just grates me so badly
it's ok
Not too many knows that The Thrills are actually an Irish Indie band,and i am not really into Indie at least not this one. Too much of an American accent for me at times and too much of a badjo for me at times and too much jetlag from the visiting all those places. Memorable mention to: Don't steal our sun,deckchairs and cigarettes,one horse town.
2-3
A little too twangy and old western sounding instrumentation for my taste.
what a waste
Once you accept what they sound like, you move on with your life and never listen again.
Pretty meh… I can see how it may have been influential but if it came out in 2003 or whatever I would think it’s beyond that point and was influenced, not influential. Pretty boring.
Not bad. Catchy but nothing stood out to me.
For an Irish band, the sure write alot of songs about California. This is one of those albums that would be awesome if you didn't know English. Decent folk pop instrumentals and the singer has an interesting vocal style. Unfortunately I find the lyrics so bland and unoriginal.
this sounds like something that Nate had on at the chateau during the 2005 era. i don't hate it and don't particularly like it.
Huh. Who knew AI was generating music 20+ years ago. Pedestrian and forgettable. In some alternate universe, Ben Folds lost all his talent, managed a Hollister, and wrote this album while never visiting California.
This feels pretty unoriginal. Like an set of tracks from movie starring Michael Cera, it checks all of the boxes of 2000s indie vibes, but feels quite a bit more empty. Santa Cruz and Big Sur are okay. And I kinda like you're love is like Las Vegas, but mostly I found this forgettable, and I suspect I'll never return to the album. 2.5, rounding down.
This was a fair album. Vanilla.
Failed to Thrill me
Didn’t do much for me
Just didn't enjoy the California pop rock vibe that much. Don't think I need to dig any deeper in the Thrills catalogue.
Never heard of this band before....from the cover photo -- they all look insufferable in their own way. Lead singer is waaaay tooo "breathy" for me. The music is fine but forgettable.
decent songwriting with a lead vocalist who sounds like he's getting kicked in the dick for 46 minutes and 24 seconds.
Some rather vapid soft rock. Heavy use of piano interspersed with some guitar and organ. Nothing here really feels that good or interesting, it's just meh.
This was not great. Not sure what the singer is trying to do.
Bit dull
Don’t tell the 20 years ago me but this kind of indie all sounds the same. This album has a good opening but it feels like it had the fate of everything sounding formulaic.
Wasnt a big fan of this one - felt like a dude was just whining in a mic for an hour.
Band chronicles the summer they spent in California. It’s cute but hollow. The singers style grates. No need to hear again. 2/5.
Very meh for me. Indie to a fault and doesn’t do anything particularly interesting but fine to listen to
Something something California twang twang California twang twang (depressed piano or guitar) twang twang twang California. Sing about Ireland next time, we've got enough California albums.
I wont scathe but its just flat out boring and not very memorable. Let alone an album to listen to before you die. Its got some laurel canyon charm, combined with a southern draw. Perhaps unique for 2003 but this album got 1Upped several times since then.
Why is this here? I mean there are like a thousand indie bands from this era. Why this? Maybe this caught me on a bad day but I cannot stand the vocals. I was leaning towards a 3 (meh) but the last few sent me into dislike (2).
All songs sound the same. Nothing special, quite boring actually.
Musically nice but weak lyrics and singing make this a forgettable album overall
Honestly a baffling inclusion for the list. I remember a couple of these songs at the time getting decent radio airplay but I don't remember the band being all that notable. So Much For The City has some fine songs - though I'd argue that a couple kind of wear out their welcome by being a bit too long and repetitive. But the album as a whole isn't super remarkable and by the end I was pretty bored.
This sounds like they're trying (way too hard) to be Neil Young and Crazy Horse, and failing miserably.
The reviews are a long list of soundalikes so no need to repeat these here. Just to say that this album is a charity shop classic in the UK and with The Kooks and Travis one of the very foremost examples of 'indie landfill' .
It’s ok
Just look at the cover... makes you wonder how it took so many band members to produce such a mediocre album. It's a listenable collection of songs but really nothing special and derivative throughout.
I'm not really sure what to make of this. It was far from terrible, in fact, a number of tunes were quite catchy. The lead vocalist had a very strange singing style, it sounded like he was trying to mimic a US accent ... poorly. Musically it was decent though. I didn't feel like it was a waste of time listening to it, but I have no desire to hear it again. I never considered turning it off, so it's not a 1 star item, but I'm torn whether it's 2 or 3 stars. I'm going with 2 stars as I feel like being a bit cunty today!
One good song
Don't expect any thrills on this boring album from Irish Indie Rock band. Some of the songs are bouncy and should be happy, while some sound like The Monkees doing Country music, - overall feel to the album is slightly depressing.
Shrug.
So let me see if I understand. These friends from Ireland form a band, get signed, but are not good enough to get anything recorded. They are dropped from their label and depressed, so they decide to visit California. They find some idiot to sign them and record an album. It turns out they are 35 years too late to be the next Beach Boys. It also turns out that they can't write songs or harmonize anywhere near as well as Brian Wilson either. Somehow, this snoozefest gets released anyway. I mean it's not terrible, but I'm kind of amazed at how incredibly boring it is.
Pretty lame to be honest. Very forgettable.
Another largely inoffensive record although I'll give it points for having this sound that I can dig. Irishmen posing as "OC" Californians. What a world. (5/10, 3/5 on this scale) (Update: It's a 2 now. It's not terrible, just irrelevant months later)
2.2
It's alright, decent way to spend 45 minutes. Sort of a Death Cab For Cutie meets Americana vibe? But the band is Irish..? Most of the songs are kind of forgettable -- not necessarily bad, just not too strong. The vocalist definitely taints it for me a lot of the time. Fave songs: - Deckchairs And Cigarettes - One Horse Town - Say It Ain't So (Shoutout Weezer) - 'Til The Tide Creeps In - Plans (Hidden Track) Edit: mmkay, little bit worse than I remember. It's strange because the good songs are truly fantastic. Exceptional indie vibes. And then there's everything else. Just exceptionally mid. And man those vocals are stinky. Stinky, stinky, stinky. I mean I've heard worse. But like -- grow a pair dude.
Ok- singers voice little too high pitched. Most songs sound just alike. Probably forgettable.
Vaguely satisfying (albeit repetitive)Americana from some Irish lads. 2.5 stars
Fair. Average. Nothing special.
Booooring
Voor een band die zichzelf the thrills noemen geeft dit album mij echt heel weinig thrill. Het begon wel leuk. Zachtaardig, rustig, bijna lief. Maar langzaamaan veranderde dat sentiment bij mij naar zeikerig. Er zit ook echt heel weinig variatie in. De stem van de zanger kan mij ook niet bekoren. Enige nummer die zich onderscheid van de rest was Say it aint so. Hier zat wat meer snelheid in. Nee dit is niet mijn muziek, allicht als je in slaap wilt vallen. Maar denk dat ik dan ook zou ergeren. 2 reten. Fav: Say it ain’t so
1.5/he sounds pathetic
My god, this was a really boring album! Seems like they’ve watered down ever single one of their influences and put it in a blender with lukewarm milk
Kinda bland and uninspiring
Meh. Pretty bland indie rock Standout song: Hollywood Kids
Uninteresting. I did not like the singer’s voice.
Inoffensive, unremarkable jangly pop. If I heard it in a Starbucks I’d neither be offended nor would I take notice. I assume a user added this record, as there’s no universe in which this is a must-hear.
Not unpleasant.
Upbeat and well produced, just not something I can find myself listening to again.
I was really prepared to give this a three because the first few songs were good. But they somehow kept this album going for what seemed like an eternity with nothing else interesting. It was kind of like if Neil Young was born in Donabate but somehow found his way to California for one week only
Gear: ZMF Bokeh Artwork: 👩👩🦰👨🦱👨🦱👨🦱👨🦱👨🦰 Production: 🎧😐👍 Music: 🌞😌🙄 Rating: 🏄(🏄♂️)/5
Boring. Belle and Sebastian did everything here better.
Idk... I guess it's fine and objectively like a 3/5, there are a few good songs on it (Big Sur, One Horse Town come to mind after the initial listen), but largely it's pretty forgettable, filled with early 2000s indie cliches, has an overbearing California obsession and the voice is not that pleasent either. In the context of a 1001 greatest albums OAT list, I'll give this one a 2/5.
I liked 'Deckchairs and Cigarettes', and One Horse Town was catchy.
Really generic Also I used YouTube for this because Spotify was down and for some reason everyone in the comments was glazing this band like crazy
Pretty mellow for a band called The Thrills. This wasn’t for me.
So I had never heard of The Thrills before so I immediately figured they were from the UK or thereabouts based on the skew of this project. Then I doubted myself because the music was so reminiscent of the 60s/70s Laurel Canyon vibe. Then I noticed the lead singer's accent and realized both things were true. It was an Irish band that was sort of doing an homage to that era of music. Aaaannddd... I think I'd rather just listen to that music.
leppoisa chilling and wibing 1 star sääntö melkein läsähtää päälle mutta kyllä tämö hyvin soi niin annetaan kaks
Hmm... To tell the truth ... well, let me explain. OK, so I was a "roadie" for a small town band for a couple of years as they did local and some moderate distant gigs. I met lots of other people in lots of other gig bands. Some were actually really good, some "self-published" and I bought a few CDs that way. But truth be told, outside of a few rare exceptions, it was unlikely any of them, including my own chosen band, were going to get signed. Now. I listened to this and it brought me back to those days. To me I don't know if this band is "that" good to be major label material. They are more like a solid local band or niche market band to me. My overall impressions were MEH.
Not a bad album. Just not my taste.
Just an irish man whispering about california
This really was a struggle. Found the guy's voice quite annoying and the lyrics were pretty weak imo
This list has a lot of one hit wonders on it. This album is the epitome of the music I was def not into during this time period. I can have a respect for pop rock, but this one was rough and one note.
low mid
A very VERY indie 45 minutes.
Really didn't enjoy much here. Quite boring and generic for me
Breathy, inoffensive, middle of the road surprised this made a superlative list?
Not unpleasant but conventional and fairly unremarkable. They sound like a lot of stuff that came out across the 2000s. But with a banjo. And an organ. And harmonica and steel guitar and symphonic strings. It was both too much and made every song feel big and unvarying in a way that became kind of dull.
i once spent three weeks in ireland. i'm writing a very precious album about it just to get back at these guys.
I’m catching up here working my way through the thrills before getting jazzy. I want to like the album but it’s missing a mark for me. I don’t know what it is. I like weird voices like his and a lot of the instruments they use or some of my faves love the banjo, love the organ put the songs almost seem a little parody or something also knowing that there are 2000s band kinda also ruins it for me. I guess I can just listen to sparkle horse or any other great band at their emulating. Might listen to this again in a different mood might hit different. Gonna sit with a two for now move on.
What happens with 5 Irish lads and 2 Irish ladies listen to too much Ben Folds and like California a lot (have you heard of it)? The Thrills! This shit sucks. No surprises. Completely edgeless. Never ending oooohhhh waaaasss and ba ba baaas!! Cloying lyrics SANTA CRUZ, BIG SUR, HOLLYWOOD KIDS. Yuck! I'm ready for chocolate cake after this. Why is this on this list? I suppose having some stuff I loathe on it is more fun. Last track is far and away the least appalling song on this album. I think I actually like it. Guitar is more western, nice slide....organ....limited ooooh waaa ba ba baaaas! I'm literally bumping this from a 1 to a 2 because of the last song, which faraway has the least streams on spotify which is hilarious to me. 2
first things first… it said this album was UNAVAILABLE in my region which is a LIE (i found it no problem through search). so if this was supposed to be a deluxe version, my apologies. it was lowkey mid. i remember thinking one of the songs was good and that was it. harmonica threw me off perhaps. 2/5.
I wasn’t too thrilled.
Yeah, so you went on holiday.
Too much cute twee in this indie album
The singers voice got to be annoying after a while. The songs were not particularly interesting and the overall the album was kind of monotonous. 2/5 Won't listen again
Bit of a nostalgia trip for me. I recall it coming out and not long after I visited California myself. I've not listened to it since though and today I find it bland and soporific. Not sure how it made it into this list - was it that influential?
4/10 Painfully average. The 3 singles I remember are still decent slices of jangle pop, but this album is one of those that is sorely out of place on any list of greatest albums. Even 1001 of them.
Don’t care for this right now.
meio chatinho né
Annoying Twee, boring, and repetitive. On top of that, California is an overused theme from an album, and the artist not being from California doesn’t make it any more interesting
I dont think this was one of the albums to listen to before you die of 2003, let alone of all time.
I had a hard time getting into this one. Not bad of course, just not my style. For me, 2 stars. My 7 month old felt similarly
No es aburrido ni sobreestimado como los discos de country, pero no entiendo qué está haciendo aquí.
It's sticky sweet indie pop. Like I need to check my blood sugar sweet. I'm getting a lot of Ben Folds and Flaming Lips, but without any edge. Honestly I'm not enjoying it. It's not anything exciting or anything that hasn't been done before. There are so many better versions of this band out there.
Really just sounded like a more country version of Pavement. Not a big fan.
I didn't find any thrills in this album. The music was like wall paper. You know it's there because you can see it on the wall but once you leave the room, you immediately forget about it and would be hard pressed to be able to describe it beyond something like, "Uh...... it was beige." The breathy lead vocals were kind of annoying at times. "Unremarkable" would be a good descriptor for this album. 2.5/5
Unmemorable with no stand out tracks. It just washes over you.
Bleh
So dull
Sounds like an Irish Monkeys.
I feel like the makers of this list stuck a couple of their personal favorites onto it and labeled it important, because that’s the only reason why an album like this is even here. I can’t fathom for the life of me what about this album is “must hear” material. I will say that for the first few songs, I was getting a bit into it. It had the vibe of wandering around a Hallmark greeting card store in the year 2008, but I was kind of digging it. However, as it progressed, it started to lean more into country territory. The lead singer became grating and the presence of the banjo and harmonica was getting on my nerves. It was at the song “Hollywood Kids”, that my brain wandered off, never to return any attention to this album. The Thrills, ironically, provided me with almost no thrills. But hey, at least George W. Bush likes them apparently. Yay? Favorite track: Big Sur Other hits: Santa Cruz (You’re Not That Far), Don’t Steal Our Sun, Deckchairs and Cigarettes
So much for insomnia... Not my favorite pick me up at work
I completely agree with the review: "What if The Flaming Lips never, ever, ever did drugs even one time and frankly is offended that you even asked about it?"
Pleasant enough indie record that doesn't really try too much to sound authentic. Although I can't find much to fault, any memory of the album is vanished as soon as the last track finished. Best Tracks: - Santa Cruz (You're Not That Far) - One Horse Town Worst Tracks: - Say It Ain't So Rating: 3.5/10
Hey guys what if we tried sounding like Pavement! Oh you mean like great instrumentals and rocking production and lyrics that are fun and interesting? No I mean we should sound like a terrible Pavement cover band that sings about other parts of California. And we should sound really cheap. And bad. Okay. I think a good idea is if an album from the early 2000s is on this list that you’ve never heard of it’s a good bet you can just skip it they all sound the fucking same
Not very thrilling
Eh
More UK nonsense that doesn’t belong here.
A little too slow and a little too sing-songy
Liked Big Sur Rating: 2.4
Okay album. Nothing remarkable.
This was not terribly exciting for me. Kind of just blank, somewhat alt-country, somewhat retro pop. I didn’t hate it, but didn’t like it much, either.
Take indie, but make it boring with lyrics that come from people that may only know about California from TV shows. Nothing outstanding, why is this here, etc. 2* Highlight: til the tide creeps in (the harmonica got me)
Conor Deasy sounds like a 10 year old boy who's never left the city of London attempting to mimic an American accent
Imagine if The Beach Boys wanted to be Snow Patrol and they also really sucked
Brits go to California and write an album about it. Next please.
To paraphrase an Irish noughties indie band: ‘whatever happened my friends, The Thrills??’ Well, they were never really my friends, but I did enjoy listening to Big Sur on a compilation CD back in the day. They’ve hardly crossed my mind in the intervening two decades though. I guess their moment came and went, and their impact on music history was not a seismic one. The first few tracks are enjoyably breezy and melodic, but the back end of the album is a bit of a snooze fest, and I should probably dock a star for the very low ‘must-hear’ status of this album, derivative as it is.
It’s okay - nothing memorable. Although, I might have heard Big Sur back when it came out, but it was not something that made me want to go listen this. I actually wanted to skip most of the songs towards the end
Well. This is indie but not very remarkable. I liked the music OK and thought it was creative. But the lead vocals had a whine-y quality to them that didn't endear me to The Thrills. And there was a little bit too much harmonica (read: I think it was only in one song). As a side note, how many songs can you have about specific locations on your album? Overkill, and unimpressed.
A very sleepy album. There wasn't really anything downright bad about it, but it wasn't remarkable, either. This slow folky indie music is okay for background music at best.
Pleasant enough songs, but not a lot to go back for.
Cheesy noughties indie pop. Country/Americana knock off. The singers voice irks me. I wish this album was that far.
Pleasant to a fault. It just seems so trite and inconsequential. After a long day I just wanted to listen to something good and this just somehow made it worse.
A band explicitly identified as paying homage to another era better be fucking good to be on this list. Otherwise why not just take an album from the era worth homage? There are some kind of proto hypnagogic pop but these are buried under contemporary pop sensibilities and don't result in any good hauntological vibes. Santa Cruz (You're Not That Far) starts with a kind of Beatlesy pop number with uninspired lyrics. Big Sur continues the Calinfornia themin' and banjo parts as well as generic lyrics. There's a kind of fun doo-wop link between verses but that's all they have. Don't Steal Our Sun has a nice steel guitar bit against a kind of Franz Ferdinand rythym track. Probably one of the better tracks. Deckchairs and Cigarettes is a lament rendered meaningless by all-too-smooth vocals. One Horse Town is again a surf-country number with a fun rythym let down by boring lyrics. There really isn't much more to say about the album, it continues down the line of mediocre slow songs and fun up-beat songs let down by tepid songwriting. The only song worth calling out is Say It Ain't So for being a favourite of George W. Bush. The only redeeming quality of this album is the beautiful production, mixing and arrangement which give the album the feeling of a Beach Boys HD remaster. If the authors were really intent on something 60s inspired for this decade they could have chosen an Ariel Pink's Huanted Graffiti album, at least then there would have been some good lyrics.
2.5 didn’t like it but wasn’t as bad as I first thought
Vaguely recognised the cover … checked my collection and found that I own it. Have no recollection of buying it. It was OK but not very inspiring.
Wilco on the sunny side of life. It’s palatable enough, but nothing really groundbreaking here for me. The whole album kind of washed over me. It did make me want to go to California though.
4/10
Unfortunately I really was irritated by the voice. It didn’t blend with any of the music in my opinion and it made it really hard to listen positively. The voice was mellow, boring, and monotone and the music couldn’t make up for its lack of interesting aspects.
Nice little early 2000s indie pop music - in general I like indie but on this album, after a few songs all the others sounded the same, the last few ones even more boring than the first ones. I'm certain this album was only included in the first edition of the 1001 Albums book in the mid-2000s, and then it was dropped afterwards. 5/10, or 2.5 stars.
County Leitrim (You’re Not That Far). An album of chemically pure mediocrity.
Kind of went in one hear and out the other honestly
First song i thing: uah its a very happy cool indie band. Second sound: WTF annoying is this?
Don’t Steal Our Sun is an ok track. The rest of the songs are boring. The band is decent but the album is bland and unoriginal. They tried way too hard to be commercial.
Its not BAD music , but it sort of pissed me off.
++: Don't Steal Our Sun, 'Til the Tide Creeps In / Plans +: Deckchairs and Cigarettes, One Horse Town, Say It Ain't So +-: Santa Cruz (You're Not That Far), Old Friends, New Lovers, Hollywood Kids, Just Travelling Through, Your Love Is Like Las Vegas -: Big Sur 5,0/10
Seems like it would be an album I enjoy but just didn’t really. It’s like it was trying to be something it wasn’t. Pee also poo
This is fine. It's very 2003 indie. I did vaguely enjoy it, but once you've heard 3 or 4 songs you've heard them all. The guy's voice kinda reminds me of Ben Gibbard at times. Lots of talk about California which is neither here nor there. 5/10
We get it you live in California
Not bad just not my type of music
32/1001 So Much For The City seems like a fine indierock/pop record, but without much character or charm to it. Honestly, just a bit too lo-fi and underbaked. The best track was ‘Til The Tide Creeps In, giving of a bit of the same vibe as Izzy Stradlin’s Shuffle It All, just wildly inferior. Sadly, there really isn’t much else going on here. 2,5/5
Generic and forgettable
Did not "thrill" me.
so much for this album. indie music has always been my thing and i was excited for this and then realised i’ve heard a couple songs before but it’s so insignificant. the actual music is quite nice, but this was so boring.
Este disco lo habría disfrutado hace 20 años cuando salió, pero me ha parecido un peñazo incluso su hit: Big Sur.
The Good: Finally an album which is all about camping… The Bad: Oh, wait, it’s not about camping… The Ugly: So why are they sitting outside, with an RV? Guilty pleasure… that’s what comes to mind. Never really heard of The Thrills before, and when the first tune started playing I was wondering what all the real cowboys would think about their musical style being redone in falsetto… I mean, seriously? Then you read about the band, and find out that they are Irish, which explains a ton, because I seriously doubt an American group would have the balls to do what The Thrills have done, which is to gentrify the country… All of a sudden you find yourself starting to hum “Everybody’s Got To Have Plans…” and you curse those thrill-seeking bastards, sitting all glum outside of their RV, hiding songs in a 10-minute track which we’ll never listen to again... On my second listen, I realized that if the singer would have been Jakob Dylan, this would have been an awesome album, easily 4*... So, hitting this straight down the middle of a guilty-pleasure that I don’t want to admit to… 3* - 1* for the annoyance factor...
what is even going on here i hate the singer and i'm just confused
Not very thrilling. Not my cup of tea - the guys singing style is pretty irritating.
Second rate Americana and surf rock from some lads who’ve only lived it second hand.
Am I disappointed in this album or in this site?
Irish band whose music was described as 'sunny' - because they moved to San Diego in the early 2000s and made this album there :) I didn't really know this band before - they sound tight, solid. This guy's voice immediately reminded me of the Flaming Lips and J.Mascis / Dinosaur Jr., who were both incidentally significant and influential bands at the time (funny that!) at times too pop and too whispery for me but not a bad listen - just not something I will go back to
I mean. Lots of good influences are apparent. Nicely played arrangements, tasteful arrangements. A little bit of fun. Decent enough. There's nothing inherently wrong. But what heck is it doing on this list. Seriously?
This guy has a terrible voice and the lyrics are all a bit trite. The ideas are not there to sustain songs longer than like three minutes.
Starts off with two great tracks but then sadly dwindles out from there
I was not thrilled. Couldn't even pick a best song cause the guys vocals were so boring. I guess it's competently made and inoffensive so I'll give it a 2. Disappointed because they're Irish.
Not so much thrills
Never heard this before, wrote a review when I was pissed. Apart from the typos my sober review concurs; jingly-jangly nonsense
Instantly forgettable. Modern sop in 4-4.
This is, ironically, some of the least thrilling music I've ever heard. It doesn't sound awful, but it's far from good.
A vibrant guitar And a little twang tries to But can’t save this band
Didn't do much for me. Kind of reminded me of a much less interesting version of Grandaddy. Nothing on here I'd really want to revisit.
There's parts of this I like that sorta remind me of Flaming Lips or something. But overall it feels like it's trying to ply on nostalgia and I'm not a big fan of that. Ultimately forgettable. 2.49/5
I didn't enjoy this
we have had to listen to a lot of forgettable music on this list but this 1 might take the cake
forgettable
Annoying over the top fake American accents in songs that sound like theme tunes for twee US teen sitcoms. No thanks
Good for a bit, but ultimately boring. Why does he sing like that?
Whoa, these Flaming Lips-adjacent vocals are like nails on a chalkboard. The songs themselves are well-played, but somewhat boring. Also, why don’t these guys just move to California already instead of writing ten songs-worth of straight fomo? Cringy.
Whoever told him that he could sing deserves to be shot Other than that it's pretty sub-par indie rock
Best Song: Big Sur. Short and punchy, and occurred early enough in the album that the vocals hadn't yet worn me down. Worst Song: Til The Tide Creeps In. Hiding stuff at the end of an album is mostly annoying. Here is is annoying. Overall: It feels like this album might have gone on to influence more modern indie groups that I do like, but I didn't really enjoy this. Lyrically it was that kind of played-out earnest honesty, but it was really difficult to get past the severely nasally vocals.
Irish Indie
Erm. What? Hey. This isn't bad at all. The singles were overplayed to hell then, but I haven't heard them for 20 years and they're lovely. Bouncing Supertramp basslines. Notes of Teenage Fanclub, High Llamas. Possibly the injection of sunshine I needed on the day America elected to crap itself publicly once again. I never cared enough to find out that the band isn't actually American, which means that excessively hokey Wayne Coyne ish accent and singing voice is put on. Which definitely becomes annoying long before the end of this short album. It's front-loaded for sure and pretty much all the second half of it it is below average.
Another one of those albums where i question why it is in the list. It’s ok but boringly early 2000s indie
I'm bored
Never heard of the guys before, despite their ‘Beach Boys-meet-Wilco’ sound and vibe. I love the lead singers voice and tone, but everything else is pretty pedestrian. The Thrills is gone for me.
Ei oikein sopinut kuunteluhetken tilanteeseen. Ei jäänyt käteen muuta kuin basic doable
Fluffy nonsense.
Completely unremarkable
I really can't remember whether I listened to this. So, that's telling, right?
Big Sur is nog nice, maar daar stopt het ook. Voor de rest saaie indiepop, meh. 2.4
Man, getting Sgt Pepper's, Rumours, Eno's Music For Airports, and Pet Sounds in a row (not to mention Prince's Purple Rain and Nas' Illmatic the previous week) spoilt me and made me forget how mediocre most of the list actually is. This is not totally irredeemable - I enjoyed it for its first two tracks - but the combination of the nasal voice and juvenile love lyrics just sounds stupid after a while, though in a ho-hum rather than offensive way.
Last night, my dad asked if I liked this album. I knew I had listened to it but it was so unmemorable I had to fib and say yes. I just realized I didn’t have to fib- I could’ve said I don’t remember. I was blindsided. I relistened to it this morning and I would agree with myself- it’s unmemorable. Not bad though.
It's not that it's necessarily bad, but what makes this list worthy over so many other things? Ugh I've said this same thing very recently haven't I.
Hmmm I’m kinda bored! It’s not bad I’m just not hooked.
I remember that I wasn’t much of a fan of this band when they came out and the passing of time has not changed my mind.
This is flagrant deceptive advertising. Calling your band 'The Thrills' and playing music like this is mean-spirited and hateful. I'm sure you're sitting in a corner laughing at all of us who were expecting something exciting and raucous. Shame on you!
The opener, “Santa Cruz,” is a 3 min song stretched to 4 min. But it gave me more time to wonder what was up with this singer’s voice? It was weird… I couldn’t place quite what it was. Then I looked the band up and found that they’re Irish. With the first two tracks on the album about California. An Irishman trying to sing with an American accent and sound like the Beach Boys? A breathier Beach Boys. I remember “Big Sur.” I think it was used on the show “The O.C.” “Deckchairs” is about California too!? I don’t know what the rest was about. I wasn’t thrilled.
First listen. Ok meh.
sounds like sunshine, dreamy wistful West Coast pop, with strong harmonies, jangling guitars, big arrangements - but, sadly, largely insubstantial and forgettable
i remembered liking this when it came out but not any more
meh
Alright enough. Don't care to listen to again.
The CW's wet dream. Jesus Christ.
weird country blink-182 midwest emo vibes and i can’t stand the breathiness
I liked the music but the vocals were too whispery for me
I was promised thrills and there were none, not cool
Uninteresting. Boring. After listening to 3 tracks, I didn't feel like wasting any more time with the album. 2/5
2.5 music was alright but couldn’t stand the guys voice
It starts off reasonably but turns out to be an uneventful affair.
Day242 - this was hard to listen to. it’s like the american version of whiny brit-pop
A lukewarm pop rock record. Not much going on for me (2.5/5)
Only found out that The Thrills are from Dublin a couple of years ago, couldn't believe it. They lean into the Californian schtick harder than the beach boys. Wanting to make this sort of music is fair enough, singing in an affected American accent is a bit silly but fine, but constantly singing about Santa Cruz, Big Sur, San Diego, ridiculous. Fake tales of San Francisco is spot on for the Thrills. Taking the album at face value, I like the singles enough, a nice addition to a summer barbecue playlist I'd say. A whole albums worth of it is bit testing though, another band that should be an EP I think. I'd say 2.5 but closer to a 2.
I don't mind the US inspiration - would have sworn they were American - but it is all just a bit dull. One of George W. Bush's favourite songs is Say It Ain't So; potentially the best song on the album. Completely passed me by first time around, no interest in listening to it again.
They've listened to some Crosby Stills and Nash and read some Kerouac and they want you to know it! CSN did nothing for me first time round. Even less reheated here. It sounds expensive , but for the cost it could've been much more interesting. Nice harmonies though...
I got kind of sick of hearing the exact same song structure three songs in a row. Luckily, the fourth song was the exact same song structure, just slowed down a little bit. Then they blew my mind a little later by having the exact same song structure, just sped up a little bit! What a ride. 2.5 stars
Ma! Sean forgot to flush the toilet again. etc
I would rate this 2.5 if I could. It's not bad, but it doesn't quite meet the expectations of an above average album for me
This is no doubt the most overtold joke in rating this group, but I was NOT thrilled. In their best songs they sound a little like they're trying to be the Beach Boys . . . if the Beach Boys had been boring and predictable.
okayish
I understand their intention with this record – music that could lift them out of their mundane reality. however, I can't say it fully comes through in the album, as a lot of the songs just are whiny, filled with banal lyrics and superficial nostalgia. so all in all, it actually ends up being a bit of a downer
This is better country than 90% of the crap coming out of the US in the past 20 years. It's good. But I didn't like it.
Fairly tepid 60s throwback. Another album to ponder why is it on this list? 2.5*
Well the streak had to end sometime. I don't care if Say It Ain't So was on George W Bush's iPod, this album didn't need to be on this list.
Love following an epic Joan Baez debut with some humdrum boring rock. Were this released like 20-30 years earlier I could see the appeal, but it's just not pushing anything in any direction. So middle of the road that it's off the road and on the median. Replace this immediately. Favorite tracks: Don't Steal Our Sun. Album art: Just a bunch of people sitting in a field, filled with ennui. Framing is fine, everything is just fine. I'm unmoved. 2.5/5
Not impressed.
High 2. Not bad but but I’d never listen again. A little repetitive
2.5 stars. A lot of Cali regencies that made me do the Leo meme but it wasn’t great
Indie rock. Lento. Rollo. Un 2.
I'm sure it was intentional, but this sounds like an album from the 60's, so...no thank you. This was hard for me to get through. I don't think it's objectively bad, so it probably doesn't deserve a 1, but it's darn close. 1.5
I am so sorry for this, it pains me to make a pun here, it does, but, the thrill is gone my friend. The Thrill is gone.
While I’ve never heard this album before, there’s nothing particularly unique about them. Sorta standard indie rock infused with Britpop that was released just as that style was starting to fade from popularity.
Pourquoi tant d'albums indie avec des chanteurs qui sonnent comme s'ils baillaient tout le long ? Quoiqu'il en soit je ne comprends aucunement l'inclusion de cet album. Je ne trouve pas que ça vient rien révolutionner dans aucun des styles que ça incorpore dans son son. Y a-t-il tant de monde qui a écouté ça en dehors du UK et de l'Irlande ? 4/10
mid but sorta nice,
Took a while to get used to the singer. Some of the songs were ok but I got tired of it by the end. A hard rate for me.
When it started I thought it sound quite listenable but after a while the vocals made all the tracks sound the same. 2*
Pretty average and his voice really grated on me. I don’t think anyone really *needs* to hear this one.
"The song "Say It Ain't So" appeared on US President George W. Bush's iPod in 2005." Is the funniest possible thing to have in your Legacy section on Wikipedia. Singer's doing his best Flaming Lips impression, while the rest of the band are doing their worst Beach Boys impression. Wouldn't even belong on a 10001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die list, but I guess it's not bad or anything. Just incredibly, incredibly average.
So much for interesting music. It's OK, but it didn’t move me.
Another one for my list of "not sure why this is on the 1,001". It's fine in areas and consistent enough but I don't see anything special here.
The stereo mixing is really good. I kind of wish the tracks stuck to being just under 3:00 minutes.I say this because Deckchairs and Cigarettes got tired for me. The formula that's been mentioned of Phil Spector, Beech Boys Neil Young seems apt. This album probably would have got it's hooks into me had I listened to it in my younger days. But nothing really popped for me, or felt special. I'm going to name drop a couple canadians here: Thrush Hermit, Joel Plaskett, Sloan, The Inbreds
According to 23andme I am 93% irish and yet this is not my jam
Not my kind of music
Not sure why this is in the list.
Not great. Not a lot interesting overall and no real individual songs to redeem it.
Remarkably unremarkable
Jeez, the opening song “Santa Cruz (You’re Not That Far)” is so repetitive. A lot of these songs repeat themselves without introducing new ideas. The hooks and choruses aren’t that great to begin with and definitely don’t justify the endless refrains. I don’t like the lead singer’s voice. Soft-spoken, high-pitched and raspy? A lot of his singing sounds flat.
Track 1 started on a whimper and I was admittedly a little bored but thankfully it only lasted about 30 seconds and then it started to go somewhere after. From there on I expected a little more and ultimately had the hardest time with the singer's voice. It's just so soft and hard to sit and enjoy without hearing how much it stands out from the rest of the band. 2.4/5
I almost bailed after the dude repeated Santa Cruz a thousand times. Apparently they felt the same way as someone shouted “End it!” At the end of the song. This kind of sounded like not-as-good Death Cab (maybe just the dudes voice). Man, don’t steal our Sun also annoyed me. Maybe it was the doo-wap sounding harmonies. Sounded like a mentos commercial. Man, I really did not enjoy this.
плохого вроде нет хорошего особо тоже Прям супер проходной альбом Алкоальбом: 1 euro beer
this wasnt horrible but i didnt love it. like a weird irish elliot smith indie rock band? i dunno. not my cup of tea.
2/5 - whiny and uninspired
very basic american pop band sound.
Gentle indie of its era.
What are these Dubliners doing singing about the US West Coast like this? They must have had an enjoyable long vacation to SoCal. The Beach Boys fingerprints all over this album are undeniable, and I'm not picking up on any Irish accents here. It's fine, I guess, but it feels a little strange to me. Is this how the English or Irish feel when we sing with their accents? I wish I'd skipped the Wikipedia entry before my listen so I could be really surprised. When the album started and I heard the vocal delivery I said "Oh, no" softly, out loud, to myself--there be precious 2000s indie ahead. I wasn't wrong. I'll give them props for the varied instrumentals and sweet melodies, but the 60s pastiche is difficult to ignore. The Monkees reference in the second track made me roll my eyes, especially when they doubled down with "People said you monkeyed around." Yuck. I'm sure I'm not the first person to make this joke, but they could've used a different band name. Highlights: One Horse Town, Hollywood Kids
Whiney and difficult to listen to. Most of the songs on here sound the same - boring, whiney, and generic.
5/10
I quite enjoyed this at the beginning - a tribute act to the Beach Boys with the harmonies and the constant California references, but with a bit more of a rocky sound. I knew Big Sur and Don't Steal Our Sun before, but the first few tracks are pretty good. Once you get past One Horse Town, it completely fades away, which is a bit of a shame. Nothing worth listening to really after that, which drags this album down to yet another 2. Highest 2 in a while, but that's not saying much.
Quite boring actually. Big Sur is a good song
Liked it at the time, seems a bit derivative in retrospect
It’s as close as good as you can get while still being bad and boring
The accompaniment is great, the production is wonderful, the harmonies emmaculate. But the lead singer makes me want to strangle someone. So breathy and pitch-for-shit, such weird pronunciation. It sucks, he sucks, and I can't listen to this album even though I want to. 2.0
Der var et par sange her jeg synes var rigtig gode, og jeg kunne ret godt lide vokalerne, de gav Wayne Coyne vibes (sorry Sandra!). Instrumentationen var en lidt akavet blanding af folksy og indie som jeg ikke synes helt virkede. Sååhh ja, det var fint, men helt uklart for mig hvad faen det laver på den her liste
Fin nok plade og kender andet der også lyder lidt henad mod det her, men godt nok ikke essentielt..
Another on I'm not sure how it got on the list. I liked the singles when they were released but after they're out the way the album is very one note
Very distinct sound... To the point that I can't tell one song from another.
Funcionou bem como música agradável como sendo som de fundo. Só que não tem nada de relevante na minha percepção.
I feel like in theory I should’ve really liked this, but I just really really cannot stand this guys voice. It’s soooo annoying
Having a hard time putting into words why I don't like this album. It sounded kind of like a less interesting Plain White Tees or Relient K. The breathy vocals put me off as well.
Just so indie bleagh 1.7
Good news: The 2018 version of the book no longer contains this album, so it must've been eliminated somwhere along the way. This record is proof of a problem with some post-2000s inclusions in these 1001 albums. Maybe it was added for being culturally relevant at the time, for being a light, summery indie record fit for the early 00s, but what about it? Twenty-one years later and it has barely made a ripple in the grander scheme of 2000s records, much less in the entirety of post-Y2K music. I don't mean to say that every record included here should have some immense impact on pop culture, but I can think of other titles from the early 2000s that deserve a place on this list over this. That's more of commentary for this entire collection though, so to go back to my thoughts on this album, I'll just say this: it's light and sweet but ultimately very meh.
could i write poetry to this? n
Nothing thrilling here. Pretty middle-of-the-road Adult-Oriented-Rock. Not sure what could be so essential about it. I wonder if they ever toured with The Waterboys. That would be a double-bill I'd be happy to skip. Loses a half-star for having more references to California than an average Red Hot Chili Peppers album.
Not offensively bad, just boring
It's . . . fine. I just got bored and forgot it was on. Which is more of a 'me' thing, but still.
Meh
So Much for the City First thing that struck me was his singing accent, the weirdly exaggerated rotic sounds. Actually quite off putting. Santa Cruz is a pretty nice bit of west coast countrified pop with nice harmonies. Big Sur is a superior version of the same thing. One Horse Town is very good, a nice melody with some great little hooks and moments. The highlight for me. I liked Say it ain’t So too. However the 3 or so good songs, and the harmonies and country touches can’t quite cover up that this is a bit boring. Plenty of MOR is great, well written and well structured pop music and some MOR is dull, where you feel the only ambition was to write something inoffensive and nice. This definitely feels too much in the latter camp to me. Songs like Big Sur and One Horse Town are clearly superior, but the rest never quite lifts off or gets out of the ‘nice’ zone, mainly as the melodies aren’t that strong, and I get a sense of them cosplaying being west coast country pop band, which is probably why the playing lacks a bit of swing and dynamism for me. It’s somewhere between a 2 and 3 but the more I listened the more shallow and ersatz this started to feel. Perhaps it’s the earnestness in recreating a type of music so faithfully that it becomes a bit insipid. I don’t have any issue with anyone from anywhere playing any type of music from anywhere, but there just seems something a bit unreal about a lot of this, almost like it’s AI. All the elements have been inputted but the output is slightly off in an undefinable way. ⭐️⭐️
It's a bit too radio-friendly vanilla for me
This whole album feels like a cheap, imitation, gas-station knockoff of real Americana. I get that they loved their time in Cali but it all just comes off so fake. I can only imagine that Irish listeners ate it up for the same reasons Americans love an "authentic Irish pub" here in the US. They haven't experienced the real thing and don't know better.
don't like this guys voice. so-so songs though
I hate his voice. I remember Big Sur being flogged on 3J in 2002/3.
Langweilig.
This kind of music I guess isn't just my thing, I did like the first song (\"Santa Cruz\") but then I lost interest. On a positive note, completely new discovery for me
I can not imagine telling a friend they have to listen to this record. It does nothing of note. And the vocals are awful. It gets a 2 because it didn't make me turn it off.
Not much depth or variance, a real malaise. Why did I have to listen?
Kind of bland but not terrible. At times sounds like The Flaming Lips at home. Not sure "Thrills" is the right name for this group lol
Pretty bland.
Just not much here…not that the songs are bad but nothing that stood out to me as something that is a must listen before I die.
Good background music but there is nothing special to be found here
Another Beach Boys wannabes
Too light and poppy. Marshmallows and lollipops. Had to stop
Grandaddy mixed with The Beach Boys. Not nearly as interesting to me though. This was a hard one to get through for some reason. It’s like cheap indie psych rock. Looked up a live performance and was even more disappointed. Eh it’s okay
Indie pop rock with a misleading name. I knew from the first song that this wouldn't be for me.
It was like nails on a chalkboard.
Nett, 60er Jahre kalifornischer Gitarrenpop aus Irland, ob es unter die Top 1000 gehört, nee, gewiss nicht.