Common Existence [PA] (CD - 2009)

Audio Mixer: Dave Fridmann.

Recording information: Stadium Red, Harlem, NY; Tarbox Road Studios, Cassadaga, NY.

Photographers: Dennis Keeley; Mike Chapman ; Michael Brandt.

When "screamo" broke big earlier in the decade, New Jersey's Thursday were one of the wave's biggest beneficiaries. Hit albums and a stint on a major label resulted, but they were always too creatively restless to fit anyone's definition of what that kind of band should be. The group made considerable strides with 2006's A CITY BY THE LIGHT DIVIDED, but they've truly fulfilled a great deal of their potential on its follow-up, COMMON EXISTENCE. The visceral power and loud guitars of hardcore are still present and accounted for, but singer Geoff Rickly's vocals are more sung than screamed, and keyboardist Andrew Everding's contributions are more central than ever. Epic tracks like "As He Climbed the Dark Mountain" and the soaring "Unintended Long Term Effects" echo both classic post-hardcore like Quicksand (whose Walter Schreiffels guests on one song) and atmospheric prog. Thursday continues to grow over a decade into their lifespan.

Although initially a leading light in the screamo/post-hardcore scene, Thursday began to transcend that movement in 2006, when A City by the Light Divided introduced an emphasis on dynamics and melodic nuance to the band's sound. Three years later, Thursday continue to buck trends with Common Existence, another melody-focused album cut with longtime Flaming Lips producer Dave Fridmann. Common Existence bears some trademarks of the band's classic screamo assault, but those aspects pale in comparison to Fridmann's own contributions, which help replicate the massive, multi-layered production found on his recent projects (including MGMT's Oracular Spectacular and Longwave's Secrets Are Sinister). Keyboardist Andrew Everding plays a key role here, his synthesized chords laying a gauzy framework for many songs, while frontman Geoff Rickly shows a good deal of restraint as he emphasizes singing over screaming. His voice sounds downright epic during "Circuits of Fire," where alternating time signatures and walls of guitar distortion find some middle ground between Brit-pop, emo, and (bizarrely enough) the anthemic prog of Dream Theater. Elsewhere, "Time's Arrow" pairs booming snare hits with ethereal harmonies, while songs like "Resuscitation of a Dead Man" and "Last Call" throw a bone to fans of the band's earlier work. In keeping with Thursday's evolution into a fierce alternative rock group, Common Existence is a somewhat streamlined release, with Rickly's screaming vocals only serving to punctuate the brief moments between more melodic segments. Critics of A City by the Light Divided will surely find fault with this album, but Common Existence is largely an enjoyable record that gives as much attention to mood and melody as muscle and might. ~ Andrew Leahey minimize