Capitol will release Teenager, the third album from acclaimed Irish rock band The Thrills, on October 23rd. The five-piece Dublin band had recorded its two previous albums - 2003's So Much For The City and 2004's Let's Bottle Bohemia - in sunny Southern California, but this time round they opted for The Warehouse (which was a makeshift morgue in a previous incarnation and is rumored to be haunted) in Vancouver, BC's seedy Gastown district.
The change in location imbued the band with a renewed intensity and a fresh perspective on its music. Working with Tony Hoffer (Beck, Air, Smashing Pumpkins), who produced their first album, The Thrills crafted an intimate, reflective collection of 11 songs. The soulful ballads "Should've Known Better" and "Teenager" are tinged with an aching sense of melancholy and the knowledge that youth's optimism inevitably gives way to a growing sense of mortality.
The UK press have been giving "Teenager" rave reviews with Mojo and Uncut giving the release 4 stars. "The theme of lost innocence is ideal for the sad sweetness of Conor Deasy's voice, which has never sounded better than on 'This Year,' a rush of noise which restores the busked immediacy of their debut," said Uncut of the release, while NME calls Teenager "wonderful, bittersweet laze-pop of a hue at which The Thrills have become grand masters" while also stating "....this really could be The Thrills' year."
"We were definitely striving for a new standard," says Deasy. "It is a record about adolescence, but it's also a record about leaving it behind." Adds guitarist/bassist Padraic McMahon: "It's not nostalgic or unduly sentimental. It's looking back and realizing how you've moved on."
The band opened for
Morrissey at London's Royal Albert Hall before they had even recorded their first album and they've since sold over a million records and played at some of the world's biggest venues in the company of U2, R.E.M. and Oasis, among others. The Thrills - comprised of Conor Deasy (vocals), Daniel Ryan (guitar/vocals/bass), Ben Carrigan (drums), Kevin Horan (keyboards) and Padraic McMahon (bass/vocals/guitars) - are currently playing a series of U.K. festival dates.
The track listing for
Teenager is as follows:
01. The Midnight Choir
02. This Year
03. Nothing Changes Around Here
04. Restaurant
05. I Came All This Way
06. Long Forgotten Song
07. I'm So Sorry
08. No More Empty Words
09. Teenager
10. Should've Known Better
11. There's Joy To Be Found...The Boy Who Caught All The Breaks
