Thursday

Thursday appeared shell-shocked after their genre-defining album, Full Collapse, in 2001, unsure of how to proceed. That identity crisis crippled them with a sequence of sub-par albums. No Devolución, their sixth record, is their first real step towards doing something new; it's as if they consciously decided to restart as fresh as possible. "No Answers" reveals their new direction ― synth-driven melodies and shimmering guitars allow Geoff Rickly's voice to linger above the music. It's followed by "A Dark Forest," which adds a Deftones-esque quality to the sound, a darkness that's never been present in their past material. Of course, remnants of their previous incarnation remain. "Sparks Against the Sun" bridges new and old, with prominent keys and softer edges combined with soaring, emotive vocals. "Turnpike" is one of the heaviest, most straightforward rock songs on the album, with distorted vocals, chunky guitars and pounding rhythms prominent and precise. "Open Quotes" follows a similar formula, but falls flat when Rickly limps into the verse outros with a fading vocal line, rather than a booming scream. But each surrounding track lifts the album up where this song fails. No Devolución won't set the scene ablaze, but it places Thursday back on the creative track they've been struggling to find for ten years.