Thursday

Item: Five Stories Falling
Author: Chaz Murphy

Five Stories Falling

(2002)

Reviewed by Chaz Murphy

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Label Victory RecordsDecapolisOctober 2002

post-hardcore punk

Thursday is from New Brunswick, New Jersey. I don't really know how to describe them. I hate using the word "emo" specially for bands that aren't emo. Thursday isn't emo. Anyway, forget the genre naming. They started playing around 1998. I saw them at one of their first shows in a basement in New Brunswick. That was about 3 years before they exploded with their second release "Full Collapse" (Victory Records). Their first release was "Waiting". I have seen Thursday perform a number of times over the past 4 years and each time they have had different members. I know Geoff (vocals) has been there each time but they change members a lot...or maybe it's just me.

Thursday's new release "Five Stories Falling" is their second release on Victory Records. It consists of 4 live tracks from their show at the Asbury Park, New Jersey Warped Tour and there is one new song called "Jet Black New Year". I really don't understand the ideology of putting out a 5 song EP and 4 of the songs just live songs. Why not make a full-length live album?

Anyway...the live songs, I have heard a lot better live recordings. And I have also heard Thursday perform a lot better than what they recorded for this album. You would figure that a band as big as Thursday and they are on a pretty big label and on the biggest punk tour of the year they could have put together a better sound and a better set. If a band is going to do a live album, why not go on tour, record a few shows and pick the best recordings and then put them together and make a full length live album? It just seemed like they did a one shot and done deal with this one. The new song isn't all that bad but I would have rather had it lost in a regular full length than just to be "the track" on this album.

I didn't like the live recordings. I thought they could be so much better. I understand the whole Victory/Thursday conflict but come on...you do have fans out there. Hopefully the next release will be so much better. Please no more live albums.