NEW THOUGHTS | Thread Pulls

BEAUTY IN REPETITION: What happens when you begin pulling threads, musically speaking? Well, it all depends on how you look at it. Perhaps it all unravels. Maybe the unraveling leads to strangely new and alluring pathways. Sometimes it means breaking new ground by pulling together the best aspects of music’s past and transforming them into your own wild concoction. Maybe it means your band should only consist of a bassist and a drummer. Thread Pulls’ debut album, “New Thoughts”, assaults silent space from multiple angles. It’s manic, frenetic, hedonistic and entrancing in its bravado. There are slices of new wave, Factory Records, punk, and jazz — like the searing trumpet squeals on “Joujouka Reminder”. There’s a dark quality to “These New Thoughts”, like it was created by a dance-house Bauhaus. Nearly all the songs have repeated elements, and the constant thump gives it the initial feel of math rock. Sometimes the music feels like the twisted sister to LCD Soundsystem’s “This Is Happening”. But that’s not exactly right either. “Starts, Ends” is majestic — a hypnotic combination of drums and bass inciting listeners into a futurist tribal groove. It’s orgiastic. (3:09 mark is staggeringly sick.) The reverbed high-falsetto vocals are sleek with slacker confidence, style, and strut. It’s cocky-cool with antipathy. Many of the song’s verses are sung in segmented parts. One phrase staggered, two words at a time, suffusing it with the magic of mantra. Thread Pulls’ duo of Gavin Duffy and Peter Maybury know exactly what they’re doing. “Sink and Swim” contains wild yelps, that don’t mean anything, except to serve as beautiful variants of repetition. Its effect is enchanting. Say the phrases, bob your head, move your foot, hum the incantations — and pretty soon the spell is cast: “We begin again” … “Are these new thoughts?” … “Weight in space” … “Got nothin’ to say / You’re always on your way.” “New Thoughts” may sound organic, but the music is tight as a snare. The instrumental transitions and changes of pace are intricate without feeling constricted. The music’s lo-fi edge keeps the human element balanced with the electronic. This is a record with real surprises, and moments of narcotic mesmerism. Rush out to buy this record, because it’s one of the best releases of the year. Note: “New Thoughts” was released September 24th on Irish label Osaka. All lyrics are unofficial. Hear more of their music at the band’s soundcloud page. – David D. Robbins Jr.

Thread Pulls “Starts, Ends”