The Thorns
The Thorns
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Decrease Font SizeEditor's Review:
Sometimes it’s possible to judge a CD by its cover. Such is the case with
The Thorns’ self-titled debut which sports a cover shot of three shaggy
haired musicians, decked out in earthy tones and walking through a grassy field,
acoustic guitars slung over their shoulders. The music contained within is of
a similarly pastoral nature — open aired, laid-back and alive.
The Thorns consist of three distinct solo artists coming from wholly different
backgrounds — Matthew Sweet, Pete Droge and Shawn Mullins — and each
play a myriad of instruments, write and provide vocals on this album. Having met
just over a year ago through mutual connections, it’s surprising how well
they work together, sounding more like long-time collaborators than a collection
of individual artists slapped together. Packed with harmonies, The Thorns’
three voices often ring out as one — though Sweet’s seems to be the
most dominant on most tracks — with pleasant results. The music is loosely
knit, layered with a variety of different instruments and sounds. But the diverse
instrumentation never distracts from the core idea of the song, instead providing
subtle hints and accents to well-composed and simple chord progressions, especially
on songs like “Blue,” which splashes strings and keys over a strong
acoustic guitar base.
It’s hard to call The Thorns a super group — their music is far too
modest for that — but Sweet, Droge and Mullins have forged an inviting debut,
though fans of these artists’ solo projects may only look at this project
with passing curiosity.
– James Barone
 Record Label Aware / Columbia Released July 2003 |
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