Title: Stuck in the slow lane
Product review: Can't anyone write a decent slow song anymore? The Thrills' first album sounds like an instant classic for a little while, pillaging California for musical ideas until the only clue that they're Irish is the cover photo-and even that's no giveaway. In many ways, songs like "Don't Steal Our Sun" sound like the Flaming Lips on Soft Bulletin, and the comparison makes instant classic designation a very real possibility. But, to quote the fourth track, "Deckchairs and Cigarettes," the bottom falls out of this album as it goes on. It's tempting to take it out thirty minutes in-perhaps after the seventh song, "Say It Ain't So"-and call it a great EP. That would deny you the excellent bonus track, though, with its classic line, "I can't see you smiling pumping gas." The slowest songs are the longest, and that kills the flow of the album. Nevertheless, it's still a good CD-it just misses too often to place any higher on the list than this.
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