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Thermals
The Body, The Blood, The Machine (Reissue)
Sub Pop 703
Released on March 5, 2013
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Originally released by Sub Pop on May 18th, 2004, The Body, The
Blood, The Machine is The Thermals third album. It has sold over 29,000
copies, and this reissue brings the album back in print after being
unavailable on vinyl for years. 2013 is The Thermals’ tenth anniversary,
and they will be touring the US to celebrate this occasion.
The Body, The Blood, The Machine was recorded at Supernatural
Sound Studios in Oregon City, twenty miles south of The Thermals’ home
in Portland, OR by Fugazi’s Brendan Canty With the unfortunate departure
of original Thermals drummer Jordan Hudson in late 2005, Kathy Foster
and Hutch Harris (bass and guitar/vocals, respectively) split up duties
on the new record themselves with Foster pulling double shifts as The
Thermals’ rhythm section for almost the entire record while Harris sang,
performed all the guitar tracks, played some bass—and the two shared
keyboard/organ duties.
With a wider, brighter, and wilder sound than anything The Thermals
have done in the past, The Body, The Blood, The Machine adds walls
of guitars, organs, and even a few "ballads" (aka slightly pretty songs) to
the mix, while still retaining the gritty post-pop-punk sound for which
The Thermals are globally famous. The lyrics envision a United States
governed by a fascist Christian state, and focus on the need (and means)
to escape. While hardly a concept album, there is definitely a story told
in the songs: a story about getting the fuck OUT while you still can.

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