Thursday - Five Stories Falling

  by Jonjo McNeill

published: 9 / 2 / 2003

Label: Victory
Format: CD

intro

New largely live offering from New Jersey emo six piece, Thursday, who are developing a strong critical following

New Jersey six piece Thursday have been tipped as the ones to watch in 2003 by Kerrang magazine. ‘Five Stories Falling’ is a five track (mostly) live EP to help break the band further in the UK. Comprised of four live tracks (‘Autobiography of a Nation’, ‘Understanding in a Car Crash’, ‘Standing on the Edge of Summer’ and ‘Paris in Flames’) as well as a brand new studio track ‘Jet Black New Year’, this collection is a good introduction to a bright new hope. Lumped in with Jimmy Eat World and Dashboard Confessional by both the press and their publicity agent, they certainly share ground with their emo peers. Thursday, however, have more of an edge than their contemporaries. ‘Autobiography of a Nation’ opens with a truly epic mixture of stadium rock guitars and rolling drums, building to a crescendo of dueling vocalists screaming the odds at each other. ‘Understanding in a Car Crash’ is as beautiful a piece of music as a ‘hardcore’ band have ever produced. A naked, emotional lyric set to a thrashy yet melodic tune, this is as open and raw as anything Dashboard have released, yet has the energy to fuel a full-on moshpit. ‘Standing on the Edge of Summer’ is perhaps the most openly emotional song here, telling the tale of the singer’s last visit to his dying Grandmother. A huge radio hit in America last year, it is the most commercial sounding thing here, yet this does not harm it. It could do without a complete synopsis of the theme at the start though. The final live track is ‘Paris in Flames’, which is almost emo-by-numbers, but has enough going on to warrant further listens. New studio track ‘Jet Black New Year’ tells of the bemusement caused by New Year hysteria. The most ‘metal’ of the tracks here, it still retains the tunefulness of its predecessors, but is essentially a B-Side. Overall, the live tracks are great tunes, if lacking in production a bit. They’re perhaps not the greatest renditions of the tunes, but the ideas are there to be heard, and as a cut-price taster for the band’s album, you can’t go wrong. With Dashboard Confessional and Jimmy Eat World riding the crest of a wave in the US, and both NME and Kerrang tipping them for a good year, Thursday look set to join the emo revolution of 2003. Good luck to them all.

Track Listing:-