Rocker (feedbot)
Gold Member
Ah, the humble sophomore album, a release that’s certain to inspire dread in its author. How does one approach it? Continue the path previously walked? Reinvent the wheel? For Australia-based Thornhill, a mix-up is certainly in order. Coming off a rather successful first endeavour in 2019, the team have chosen to sell out to the Devil of the Silver Screen: Thornhill has gone Hollywood. ‘Heroine’ sees the band commit to an extravagant tribute to classic American cinema, upping the intensity and dramatics to produce an LP that, while still not the heavy record some fans have been looking for, is a strong mission statement from a band committed to exploring their style.
Perhaps the record’s biggest strength is its commitment to itself. ‘The Dark Pool’, Thornhill’s first full length release, was a strong showing for the band but felt more like a larger helping of what came before it in previous EP and singles. It was neither a catastrophic failure nor a resounding success, simply feeling like the band were unable to pick a direction, resulting in an album that wasn’t quite heavy enough for some, not melodic enough for others. Much of this issue is resolved here through theme alone: the extravagance of Hollywood requires some pizzazz to emulate the movie magic of the silver screen, and Thornhill, still exploring new sounds and influences, tries to embody this, at times upping both their heavier moments with thunderous guitar lines reminiscent of their debut EP ‘Butterfly’ while committing more to a melodic, almost alternative, soundscape in places a la Boston Manor.
The thumping chorus and bridge powered by sickening drums in the opener ‘The Hellfire Club’ is laced with violin strings, and contrasted by some truly angelic vocal work from lead singer Jacob Charlton. Similarly, ‘Leather Wings contrasts its soaring ambient sound with a truly guttural finish. ‘Blue Velvet’ has a more symphonic edge to it and perhaps exemplifies some of the improved mixing on the record, as the higher ends get a lot more love here than in ‘The Dark Pool’ (though with the focus on the more melodic airy side of the record, it would have been great to hear more of those rampaging basslines throughout the album).
From here, we lose a bit of edge to the album, increasingly replaced with an underlying alternative rock energy. This is sure to be will be intensely divisive as loss of the weightiness the band has had in the past is overshadowed slightly by those alternative influences (though later we see the bassline of ‘Raw’ ending up being one of the heaviest parts of this record, to great delight). ‘Casanova’ is the strongest example of this, the metalcore roots dug out in favour of alt-rock riffs, with Charlton especially evoking the wild vocal range of Muse’s Matt Bellamy on the soaring chorus – fitting, given their recent Like a Version cover of Supermassive Black Hole. Our instrumental midway point, ‘Something Terrible Came With The Rain’ and its heavy symphonic influence in the strings signify our movie’s intermission. Through theming, this gives it a greater purpose within the album than previous TH instrumental tracks, before picking up the pace with the more familiar ‘Hollywood’, the lead single for the record that particularly embodies with a dash of Deftones in its sultry guitars and miasmatic chorus.
As mentioned, these new 2000s alternative influences will be divisive and while they work in the context of the record, pairing familiar heaviness with those airy, at times open choruses, it’s an unexpected turn nonetheless, even with Charlton’s killer range being made for this style. Is this the album you’d expect from Thornhill? Not really, but for a concept album such as this, it’s perhaps better they stay on theme and explore a new variety of intensity rather than attempt to reconcile it with the sounds of ‘The Dark Pool’ and risk potentially creating a watered down emulation.
Not every swing hits the fence, though. The James Dean energy of ‘Valentine’ feels like a poor Neighbourhood clone whose electronic drums slow down the tempo of the record for worse. Similarly, the laid back energy of ‘Varsity Hearts’ renders it somewhat empty in its sound at times, not quite lining up with anything else on the album, and it ends up being something of a black sheep among the harder songs in the album. ‘The closing, titular ‘Heroine’ is equally a bit of an oddball, however its melancholic, almost pop-punk styling is something you wouldn’t expect out of the stylings of Thornhill even with all their influences. It’s a surprise to be sure, but out of all of Thornhill’s experiments, this is the most welcome one.
For a sophomore album, ‘Heroine’ does its best to stand alone from the group’s debut, and for better and worse is a fresh take on the Melbourne quintet’s particular brand of metalcore. It still may not hit as hard as some may want, given Thornhill’s previous displays of intensity in their early work, but the more melodic direction of many of the record’s tracks makes for a more engaging LP, one that doesn’t feel as driven by its influences as before. While Thornhill’s roots are often buried deeper than expected beneath a layer of new alternative styles, in between the lights and glamour of this Hollywood tribute remains moments of thundering heaviness from what remains one of the most exciting up-and-coming bands of the Australian scene.
FIACHRA JOHNSTON
Perhaps the record’s biggest strength is its commitment to itself. ‘The Dark Pool’, Thornhill’s first full length release, was a strong showing for the band but felt more like a larger helping of what came before it in previous EP and singles. It was neither a catastrophic failure nor a resounding success, simply feeling like the band were unable to pick a direction, resulting in an album that wasn’t quite heavy enough for some, not melodic enough for others. Much of this issue is resolved here through theme alone: the extravagance of Hollywood requires some pizzazz to emulate the movie magic of the silver screen, and Thornhill, still exploring new sounds and influences, tries to embody this, at times upping both their heavier moments with thunderous guitar lines reminiscent of their debut EP ‘Butterfly’ while committing more to a melodic, almost alternative, soundscape in places a la Boston Manor.
The thumping chorus and bridge powered by sickening drums in the opener ‘The Hellfire Club’ is laced with violin strings, and contrasted by some truly angelic vocal work from lead singer Jacob Charlton. Similarly, ‘Leather Wings contrasts its soaring ambient sound with a truly guttural finish. ‘Blue Velvet’ has a more symphonic edge to it and perhaps exemplifies some of the improved mixing on the record, as the higher ends get a lot more love here than in ‘The Dark Pool’ (though with the focus on the more melodic airy side of the record, it would have been great to hear more of those rampaging basslines throughout the album).
From here, we lose a bit of edge to the album, increasingly replaced with an underlying alternative rock energy. This is sure to be will be intensely divisive as loss of the weightiness the band has had in the past is overshadowed slightly by those alternative influences (though later we see the bassline of ‘Raw’ ending up being one of the heaviest parts of this record, to great delight). ‘Casanova’ is the strongest example of this, the metalcore roots dug out in favour of alt-rock riffs, with Charlton especially evoking the wild vocal range of Muse’s Matt Bellamy on the soaring chorus – fitting, given their recent Like a Version cover of Supermassive Black Hole. Our instrumental midway point, ‘Something Terrible Came With The Rain’ and its heavy symphonic influence in the strings signify our movie’s intermission. Through theming, this gives it a greater purpose within the album than previous TH instrumental tracks, before picking up the pace with the more familiar ‘Hollywood’, the lead single for the record that particularly embodies with a dash of Deftones in its sultry guitars and miasmatic chorus.
As mentioned, these new 2000s alternative influences will be divisive and while they work in the context of the record, pairing familiar heaviness with those airy, at times open choruses, it’s an unexpected turn nonetheless, even with Charlton’s killer range being made for this style. Is this the album you’d expect from Thornhill? Not really, but for a concept album such as this, it’s perhaps better they stay on theme and explore a new variety of intensity rather than attempt to reconcile it with the sounds of ‘The Dark Pool’ and risk potentially creating a watered down emulation.
Not every swing hits the fence, though. The James Dean energy of ‘Valentine’ feels like a poor Neighbourhood clone whose electronic drums slow down the tempo of the record for worse. Similarly, the laid back energy of ‘Varsity Hearts’ renders it somewhat empty in its sound at times, not quite lining up with anything else on the album, and it ends up being something of a black sheep among the harder songs in the album. ‘The closing, titular ‘Heroine’ is equally a bit of an oddball, however its melancholic, almost pop-punk styling is something you wouldn’t expect out of the stylings of Thornhill even with all their influences. It’s a surprise to be sure, but out of all of Thornhill’s experiments, this is the most welcome one.
For a sophomore album, ‘Heroine’ does its best to stand alone from the group’s debut, and for better and worse is a fresh take on the Melbourne quintet’s particular brand of metalcore. It still may not hit as hard as some may want, given Thornhill’s previous displays of intensity in their early work, but the more melodic direction of many of the record’s tracks makes for a more engaging LP, one that doesn’t feel as driven by its influences as before. While Thornhill’s roots are often buried deeper than expected beneath a layer of new alternative styles, in between the lights and glamour of this Hollywood tribute remains moments of thundering heaviness from what remains one of the most exciting up-and-coming bands of the Australian scene.
FIACHRA JOHNSTON