The Thrills - Let’s Bottle Bohemia

Oh now come on, you may be thinking The Thrills are a boring bunch of Irish wannabe Americans. You may even be right, but do they really deserve the same levels of criticism reserved for the coffee table dirge that they sell in motorway service stations? This band are not awful, they’re not even bad, but they are painfully average.

Conor Deasy’s SoCal-Dublin vocal is an acquired taste - strained attempts at a tuneful nature aplenty. The songs are as world weary as ever, and ‘Let’s Bottle Bohemia’ will probably sell a bucket load. It certainly isn’t going to spring up any world changing surprises.

‘Faded Beauty Queens’ has the same honky-tonk bar room vibe as so much of The Thrills’ earlier material, laden with hooks and Sunny Delight strength summer vibes. ‘You Can’t Fool Friends With Limousines’ and ‘The Curse Of Comfort’ are no different.

And here is exactly where The Thrills’ problem lies. You can’t argue that they do that sun-kissed-angst thing incredibly well, but it’s all they can do. From start to finish it’s one ramshackle country bumpkin ramble, never quite getting out of second gear. ‘The Irish Keep Gate-Crashing’ manages to wake things up right before the end, but it’s a case of too little too late.

To summarise: we’re still at stalemate - ‘Let’s Bottle Bohemia’ isn’t going to change anyone’s opinion any time soon. As you were.