I discovered New Brunswick, New Jersey ska punk band Thirsty Guys when checking out Bad Time Records’ online store after falling in love with Omnigone's debut LP No Faith. A record immediately caught my eye on the page. It featured two bottles of Coca-Cola (I'm a big fan) and a microphone. This was, of course, Thirty Guys and their new album Parched. Naturally I checked it out as I'm always on the hunt for new ska punk bands and really enjoyed what I heard. Thirsty Guys are a four piece who have been releasing music since 2016 and Parched is the band’s first LP. It collects many of the singles they've already released as well as some new songs.
Parched begins with Weekend At Bernie's. This track is a great introduction to Thirsty Guys. It's a fast paced, bouncy ska punk track with plenty of upstrokes that will quickly get you moving. There's that great raspy vocal style that you might expect more from a skacore act. I love this style of vocal, it's a bit dirtier and raw but there's something about it that makes it more accessible to me. Perhaps because it's not perfect and I can't sing for beans. Later on in the track there's an introduction of what I assume is a keyboard. This instrument becomes more prominent as the album goes on. Weekend At Bernie's is a more intense sounding Thirsty Guys, while the second song Bad Chemistry has a more slow paced, summer time feel as it begins. The harsh vocal comes in and creates this fantastic contrast that you just can't ignore. There was a nice surprise after the first two verse where Liz Fackelman guests for the band and turns the song into a fantastic duet. The keys add this fantastic extra element between verses that give Thirsty Guys such a unique sound that I love more and more with each listen. Actors & Addicts sees Thirsty Guys step away from ska slightly and just play a straight up punk rock song. It's about trying to become successful in the entertainment industry and feeling exasperated with all of the rubbish that comes with it. After the intensity of the opening half of the song, Thirsty Guys do throw in some keyboard-lead ska to break the song up a bit. This keeps the song sounding fresh and unpredictable.
Not Playing Fest is a slightly angry and bitter, but also very much tongue-in-cheek, song about not being booked to play The Fest in Gainesville. On the track, Thirsty Guys lament all the different hoops it seems as if you have to jump through to get a slot on the line up. There is an erratic quality to the song that fills it with this infectious energy that it's hard not to get swept up with. I hope this track doesn't affect Thirsty Guys playing the festival in the future as they're a top, top band. After the erratic Not Playing Fest, Thirsty Guys calm things down a bit on the fifth song, Common Place. The song starts slowly, building towards the first vocals. This sets the whole tone for the song, being slightly moody and unhappy with where you are in life. The band do a fantastic job flitting around between ska and a bit of midwestern emo as if the two genres are common bedfellows. Up next is Blank Slate. Blank Slate continues to cross emo and ska to great effect. The powerful and chunky guitars, along with those passionate vocals, start the song off in an ear catching manor before switching to the ska sound for the chorus. The track is about starting again because you're not happy with the life you currently have. Hollow Days (Mfc) is a track about how special holidays such as Christmas are ruined by consumerism and capitalism and how it takes the magic away. This is a message I can really relate to, especially since I've worked in retail for more than half of my life. A really easy (and perhaps lazy) comparison of Thirsty Guys is to Bomb The Music Industry. It's most apparent on Hollow Days (Mfc).
Pretend is a slower ska/reggae/pop song. I loved the no thrills beginning of the track with the vocals starting the song immediately before Liz Fackelman returns to add some trombone to the song. It's interesting that we've gotten to the eighth track of a ska album and we're only just getting treated to some brass. What's even more interesting, I've not even noticed the lack of brass on Parched. I think this says a lot about the skill Thirsty Guys have as musicians that brass has gone unmissed. Pretend is about realising you've spent way too long on a something that isn't as real as you thought it might be and being done with it. It's one of those ska songs that's quite sad but also feels extremely upbeat. The penultimate song is titled Bullshit. Getting back to the high energy and erratic style that I love about this band, Bullshit is about calling out a liar who has filled your head with lies. I assume that the track is aimed at one person in particular but I'm sure it's relatable for a lot of people. There's a no thrills approach to the song with Thirsty Guys storming through – they'll have you dancing, skanking, moshing and singing with your fist high in the air all at different moments in the song. A lot happens in this two minutes and eight seconds. Parched finishes with the song Falling On Deaf Ears. What a fantastic way to finish what is a fantastic album. The song has quite a long build towards its first verse, really creating suspense when the vocals come in. After a ska heavy verse we get to the chorus where Thirsty Guys give us another level of intensity. Bringing the powerful emo sound back in, the chorus really grabs at you. This is one of the more intense and powerful choruses I've heard on any album in 2019 and I love it. The ending of the song, and indeed the entire album, was perfect. Calming things down musically with some ska upstrokes we still have some powerful emo style vocals shouting out "it’s not my song to sing, but it’s my fight to fight, you’re still not listening, hope you feel dead inside."
I loved Parched from start to finish. This is such a brilliantly unique album with Thirsty Guys playing around with a sound that I've not really heard before. Thirsty Guys have got to be one of the most exciting new bands on my radar for some time. This band and this record are one I will be telling everyone I know about. It's a must hear record from 2019 for certain. Go and listen to it now, please. Thanks.
Stream and download Parched here: https://thirstyguys.bandcamp.com/
Like Thirsty Guys here: https://www.facebook.com/thirstyguys/
This review was written by Colin Clark.
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