There have been a few criticisms of Thrice in the years. Certainly the band we have now is a far cry from the one that made ‘The Artist In The Ambulance’. ‘To Be Everywhere Is To Be Nowhere’ is more of a straight-up rock record than a heavy punk one, occasionally with throws of post-hardcore and emo but for the most part far more sedate than Thrice’s earlier work. It is also absolutely fantastic. On first listen, this album is stunning. From the production, to the lyrical content, to the massive choruses in ‘Hurricane’, ‘The Long Defeat’ and ‘Death From Above’, this album is a masterpiece of modern rock music. There’s also still plenty of anger to be found in this beautiful masterpiece. Where fans of early Thrice might be turned away by ‘Stay With Me’, they will equally enjoy ‘Blood On The Sand’, ‘Death From Above’, ‘Black Honey’ and ‘Whistleblower’, all of which have a very honest, very real feeling behind them. And whether that feeling is real anger, indignation, pain or sadness, it’s the way the vocals are almost echoed in sentiment by the craft of the instruments that makes each track hit harder than the last.
Where I have found this album to exceed in, is the listenability. I have owned this record for many months, and have listened to it about six times a week. I am still falling more and more in love with it. When you find an album that you can listen to over and over again and not only not get bored, but still find new things to enjoy about it, that is a very special thing indeed. AL