Sub Pop
2006
The Body, The Blood, The Machine
About This Album
On The Body, the Blood, the Machine, the Thermals' third album, the band takes another step away from the inspired lo-fi racket of their debut, More Parts Per Million, and a giant leap further into politics. As they did on their previous album, F**kin A, the band has streamlined their sound more and cleaned up the sonic mess that gave their debut such a dose of live wire electricity. Not that they've made a glossy pop record or any deal-breaking concessions to high fidelity; they just sound more professional and real. Besides, any raucousness or fire that has been subtracted from the musical presentation has been reinvested in Hutch Harris' insistent vocals and hot-to-the-touch politics. He takes on organized religion, conservative politics, war, and the general state of things in a yelping, near-hysterical voice that brings to mind Roky Erickson at times. Coincidentally, the comparison to Erickson makes a lot of sense. In the same way that Erickson's obsession with creatures, zombies, and two-headed dogs might put off listeners who don't share his mania, so too might fans of the Thermals' sound find Harris' polarizing views an obstacle to get past. You get the feeling they don't really care if they lose a few fans, though.
Track List (try tracks 1,2,3,4 and 6)

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.