Thank You is not the most dynamic of band names and it certainly doesn't prepare you for the brainstorming impact of this trio from Baltimore.
There are just six tracks on the album, with a playing time of a little over thirty minutes, but you can easily imagine the unedited version lasting ten times as long. The ruthless editing means no track hits the six minute mark yet the album still manages to cram a lot of information into a tight space.
The cut and paste effect is never random but it does frequently leave the listener disorientated. Pinning down their hybrid sound is like hitting a moving target. Theirs is a sugar-high fusion of Krautrock, no-wave, dance-punk, avant-rock all tied together with dub-pop rhythms, if that makes any sense. Bands like Battles and Beach House are good reference points.
Thank You formed in 2006; Michael Bouyoucas , Jeffrey McGrath are its founder members, and this is the first release with drummer Emmanuel Nicolaidis (his predecessor , Elke Wardlaw, now lives in Berlin).
Originally, the band limited their vocals to hums, grunts and chants and frankly there's not much sign of an evolution from this blueprint. They haven't yet progressed to singing discernable words; instead the voice is used like another analogue instrument beside the guitar, drums, bass and Farifsa.
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The manic energy is both a strength and a weakness. It gives their music a dynamic quality but this comes at the cost of certain shapelessness. Continental Divide, for example, speeds along like an out of control train (complete with whistle effects) while a track like Pathetic Magic inspires more confidence as it least shows that the drivers know where to locate the brake.
Either way, it leaves you feeling a little breathless and you'll feel like finding a quiet space to unwind when the half hour ride is up.
Thank You at Thrill Jockey
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