CMJ Review: Night 4 starring the Thermals

After the Arcade Fire show on Wednesday night we weren't sure even going to any more shows was necessary. But we trudged on, press badge around neck and open mind...er, kept open.

Reviews of Days 2 and 3 are lost amongst our collective, clouded mind...but will appear in this space within the week. For now we'll jump to Saturday night in which Gothamist closed out CMJ with the Sub Pop showcase at Mercury Lounge (which has become our favorite venue, by the way). We were there to see the Thermals (who we last caught at Siren this summer).

As always with the Thermals from the moment the first note was barely in the air the crowd started to nod heads, tap feet and jump into what progressively became a mosh pit. We haven't seen a mosh pit since Lollapalooza '94, but there one was, formed in the middle of the small Mercury Lounge floor. This band is fast, loud and exudes energy molecules that make even the most reserved person move.

The Thermals are lo-fi and high strung, fitting perfectly into the Sub Pop sound, and with Chris Walla helping to produce your demos and albums the cult following is sure to grow fast. Their raw hardcore indie sound is riddled with catchy lyrics that practically everyone was singing along to on Saturday night. Gothamist imagines that had we stumbled in unknowing that night we would have felt as if we had just come upon a garage in the Pacific Northwest where a trio had resurected the grunge rock sound and perfected it with a catchiness that made all their friends move in unison. They aren't bringing a "new" sound to the airwaves and clubs around the country, but they're bringing us a familiar sound that we love and they may just be doing it better than any other band out there.

The Thermals next few shows are back on their coast, but keep an eye out for them in the future.

Watch their video for No Culture Icons.