Thursday

Fri 20th Feb, 2009 in Features

Thursday have, in truth, never had the best of times with their record labels. Their parting with Victory Records – who released their much-acclaimed sophomore set, Full Collapse – ended in vitriol, with the band heading for the major label world. Now, of course, the band have moved on from there too, releasing two albums that have been received favourably by critics and fans alike but failed to shift the units to justify the band’s place on the roster. Now, a confident frontman Geoff Rickly believes the band have found the perfect fit: legendary punk label Epitaph Records.

“The thing about Epitaph is that we don’t just have our freedom there, but a whole group of people who understand us and like us,” Geoff enthuses. “They’re really into it and proud that they get to work with us. I’d rather have support than money.”

Thursday were part of a swathe of vaguely emo, post-hardcore bands; influenced by the legendary Fugazi but not quite so concerned about the politics. As such, they were happy to sign to a major label in the boom time. Having gone from the independent scene on Victory to the majors on Island (a subsidiary of the Universal empire) and back to the independents with Epitaph, Geoff can see the benefits that this path has created for them.

“The Island treated us great, then the whole staff left to run Warner Brothers,” he explains. “Because it’s a corporation they didn’t care – they just brought in new people, and they were like, – œWe get the Killers, we get Fall Out Boy…but what is this Thursday band?’ It wasn’t like they disliked us as people, but they just wanted us to get someone to write us some hits. It was like, – œOh no! This is what the major label world is really like!’”

The band’s new album, Common Existence, has some of the band’s most direct and straightforward material on it. For example, Love Has Lead Us Astray sounds like the sort of song that could potentially “take Thursday to the next level”, and be the sort of hit that Island were chasing.

“I don’t listen to hit songs,” he shrugs, “so to me what a hit is is way off. I think of the National’s Fake Empire, and songs that you love are hits. A principled punk rock band being on your major label is probably the most annoying thing that you can deal with.”

The band have always had plenty of political subtext in their songs, but they’ve always managed to touch on personal experience too. It continues as such on the band’s fifth album, with Friends in the Armed Force being both political statement and personal tribute.

“I know a lot of people who have [served their country],” Geoff explains. “It’s strange, because our band is so anti-war I thought we wouldn’t have fans who had served. But actually there’s a lot of people who have served in the military who listened to Thursday to get them through it. Strangely so many people who have signed up to be in the military but have been through this Iraq conflict feel very, very strange about it – they’re not sure if they’re doing the right thing, but they’re doing their job and they’re there at that point.

“It’s very complex,” he continues. “I think Friends in the Armed Forces is about how politicians will say if you’re anti-war you don’t support the troops. Well, I think this war is unjust and I think you’re putting my friends who are in the armed forces in harm’s way for no reason. That means I don’t support them because you don’t support them; if you did you’d do it for something that had to be done.”

The band re-teamed with producer Dave Fridmann for Common Existence, and it’s something that they would happily do again. Fridmann is always wanting to change people’s perceptions, and get to the essence of the sound. “Dave works so much with psychedelic indie pop bands,” he begins, “so his attraction to us is our attraction to him – he loves that we’re so different from the regular thing that he does. He loves that he doesn’t hear us like all the other hardcore and metal producers. He hears us with a completely different set of ears, and we both get to expand our musical knowledge by working together.”

Thursday’s Common Existence is out now.