Personal Life, by The Thermals

Personal Life

by The Thermals

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Custom Made In 1968 I'm such a sucker for fuzzy loud pop songs. Favorite track: I Don't Believe You.

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Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album
The Thermals' 2010 album 'Personal Life' on compact disc. Ships from the Kill Rock Stars office in Portland, OR.

Includes unlimited streaming of Personal Life via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

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Streaming + Download

Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

Purchasable with gift card

$9 USD or more

1.	I'm Gonna Change Your Life 02:59	lyrics	buy track
I'm gonna change your life I'm gonna steal your soul I'll keep you warm at night I'll leave you in the cold I'm gonna change your life I'm gonna leave my mark We can lie in the light We can wander in the dark I wanna know your secrets I wanna know your shame I wanna know your feelings I wanna know your name I'm gonna change your life I'm gonna turn you around I can lift you up You can hold me down I'm gonna change your life
2.	I Don't Believe You 02:38 video	lyrics	buy track
Say you're walking away Say you're wasting your days I don't believe you Say you're going through a phase You're just acting your age I don't believe you Oh! There's nothing we can do If I don't believe you Say you're feeling kinda ill You're just feeling rather sick I don't believe you You're just feeling from the pill You just wanna make it stick I don't believe you Oh! There's nothing we can do If I don't believe you Our history is incomplete I don't believe you Say you're wasting away Say you're wasting your days I don't believe you Say you're going far away Say you're leaving in a day I don't believe you Oh! There's nothing we can do If I don't believe you Our history is incomplete I don't believe you
3.	Never Listen To Me 04:30	lyrics	buy track
Follow my light, follow my lead Never listen to me Fall by my side I only mean to deceive Never listen to me Follow the sound, follow me down Follow me down I'll give you all that I have I'll tell you everything Love me all of my life Never listen to me Follow my call, follow my voice Like you know me, like you know me Fall in the sea, fall in the noise Like you know me, like you know me Follow my call, follow my voice Fall in the sea, fall in the noise Never listen to me I'll give you all that I have I'll tell you everything Love me all of my life Never listen to me Never listen to me
4.	Not Like Any Other Feeling 03:34	lyrics	buy track
When you're ascending you glow When you hit a dead end you know It's not just a feeling you get It's a feeling that you fight against Repeat At the top you relax You only wait patient to pass You're only filling a space You only exist to be replaced Repeat You only exist to be replaced When you're descending you burn Every death, every lesson you learned It's not just a feeling you get It's a feeling that you learn to protect In time You're only free on the ground When you fall you never make a sound It's not a feeling at all It's not like any other feeling You'd call perfect When you're in motion you own every speed, every touch and tone It's not a feeling at all It's not like any other feeling You'd call perfect Perfect
5.	Power Lies 02:57	lyrics	buy track
How did I lose my past How did I choose this path Why do I hold to my chest Every memory I mean to forget How can I measure my length Where will I find my strength Power Lies How did I find myself on top How will I ever know to stop When will I learn to defend When will I finally see the end How can I erase my steps How can I fake my death How can I bear to leave The air is too thin to breath Power lies It takes back what you take in time
6.	Only For You 04:17	lyrics	buy track
I'm cut for you If only to show you the way I'm cut for you If only to follow your fate I'm cut for you If only to make you feel small I'm cut for you If only to cushion your fall My love If only to capture your days If only to match your mate If only to offer the truth It's a feeling I always refuse But only for you My love When you were born You were sore and underweight When you were made You were made from mistakes Now you feel only fear in caress And you carry a terrible stress My love If only to capture your days If only to match your hate If only to offer you ore It's a feeling I always ignore But only for you My love If only to capture your days If only to match your hate If only to throw you away My love Only for you
7.	Alone, A Fool 02:08	lyrics	buy track
When I have you near When I have you near I'm alone When I have you close I miss you the most I'm alone I have you in the past Long as the memory will last When I'm by myself You're with someone else I'm a fool When I'm by your side I'm nowhere in your mind I'm a fool You're always in my head You're always in my head I'm a fool
8.	Your Love Is So Strong 03:00	lyrics	buy track
Your love is so strong It cracks at the slightest touch Your love is so strong Like nothing, it crumbles to dust Your love is so strong In embrace, it withers in pain Your love is so strong Like nothing, it melts in the rain Your love is so wide Black on every side Every side Your love is so strong It shatters at the slightest hum Your love is so strong Like nothing, it melts in the sun Your love is so strong It's only a fear in your eyes Your love is so strong It's only a series of lies My love is so lost I sell at any cost Your love is the seed It's the promise I need To be deceived And I need to be deceived You're all that I need I'll love you so long Your love is so strong
9.	A Reflection 02:37	lyrics	buy track
Together at peace Together in a dream A reflection of light Is all we can see Together in water Together unreal A reflection of heat Is all we can feel Together we end Together we sleep A reflection of memory Is all we can leave A reflection of love A reflection of death Is all that we needed It's all we have left
10.	You Changed My Life 03:26	lyrics	buy track
You changed my life You proved me wrong You taught me everything I thought I knew all along You changed my life You set me free From everything I never really wanted to be You changed my life You built me up You pulled me to the world That I was dreaming of You changed my life You made me see How everything I ever knew was gone But still I held on I was holding on Was all I could do Now when I'm cold Now when I hold I hold on to you You changed my life You proved me right Provided every sky Every day, Every light You changed my life You owned my heart You wore it to shreds You tore it apart It's so hard to be alone After the heat I've held After the love I've known You changed my life You made me see Now everything I ever knew is gone But still I hold on Yeah, I'm holding on It's all I can do Now when I'm cold Now when I hold I hold on to you

about

Over the course of seven years and four LP's, The Thermals have tackled a variety of subjects with no small amount of passion and fervor. Religion, politics, death, these are some heavy themes! Yet The Thermals have irreverently run roughshod over these topics with excesses of moxie and gusto, the likes of which the post/punk/pop/power/etc. community had never before seen! Now, for their fifth LP, The Thermals have battled (and perhaps even conquered!) the deepest and darkest of all popular art themes- love.
Not that The Thermals haven't sung/spoken/screamed about love before. Every Thermals LP has at least two or three songs that provide a short respite from whatever paranoid chaos is going on to deal with love, and the wide range of emotions it produces and abuses. But never before have The Thermals devoted an entire LP to love, loss, and… lies! That's right, you can't have a little love without a lot of loss and lies. More than an album strictly about love, Personal Life is about relationships. It's about the concept of a connection between two people - making it, breaking it, and faking it.

The first three songs on Personal Life speak to the listener using the exact language of love and lust. "I'm Gonna Change Your Life", "I Don't Believe You", "Never Listen To Me" - these are (for better or worse) all phrases lovers have said to each other ever since Adam and Eve realized there was more to do in Eden than just eat fruit all day. These songs set up the "story" (for lack of better a term - Personal Life is as much a concept record as the last two Thermals LP's were, which is to say it's not much of one, but it kind of is). The record may begin optimistically, almost arrogantly, but by the second song problems have already arisen. The drama begins, and as all of us who have loved know, once the drama starts there ain't no stopping it.

The next three songs explore the similarities between politics and emotions. Power wielded on an international level is really not so different than power wielded in a relationship. Someone always has to be on top. If you're on the bottom, you're asking yourself, "How can I get on top?" If you're on top, it's hard not to constantly question your worth and longevity. "How did I get here, and how do I stay here? Do I deserve this? Am I satisfied?" Sometimes getting what you wished for isn't all it's cracked up to be. Power Lies!

In the last third of Personal Life, the titles and lyrics again take a direct approach with the listener. "Only For You", "Your Love Is So Strong" and "You Changed My Life" are again phrases pulled straight from real-life situations, although these versions may contain more dark sarcasm than usual. All in all, Personal Life amounts to the indie-rock equivalent of a brilliant but ultimately doomed love affair. A beautiful, turbulent experience that will hopefully leave you wiser in the ways of love and life.

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Personal Life is something of retro-technical achievement. Producer Chris Walla (Death Cab For Cutie, Tegan and Sara) recorded The Thermals the same way in which he produced their 2004 LP Fuckin' A. The band was recorded live (for the most part) to tape, and the album was mixed to tape as well. The sonic care Walla gave to Personal Life assures an enjoyable listen for audiophiles (the vinyl was mastered straight from tape) as well as for the rest of us who don't care and will be listening on shitty headphones and Radio Shack speakers.

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credits

released September 7, 2010

PRODUCED BY CHRIS WALLA

IN 2009/2010
RECORDED AT JACKPOT!, PORTLAND, OR
ASSISTED BY KENDRA LYNN

MASTERED BY ROGER SEIBEL
AT SAE MASTERING, PHOENIX, AZ

RECORDED AND MIXED ANALOG

MUSIC BY
HUTCH HARRIS, KATHY FOSTER, WESTIN GLASS
LYRICS BY HUTCH HARRIS
ARTWORK AND LAYOUT BY THE THERMALS

HUTCH HARRIS - GUITAR, VOCALS
KATHY FOSTER - BASS, VOCALS, NOISE
WESTIN GLASS - DRUMS, VOCALS

(C) (P) 2010
ROYAL WE PUBLISHING (BMI)
KATHLEEN FOSTER (BMI)
LAURA PALMER SONGS (BMI)
UNDER EXCLUSIVE LICENSE TO
KILL ROCK STARS

BOOKING: ROBIN TAYLOR & DANIEL TRACI
INTERNATIONAL CREATIVE MANAGEMENT
INFO@ICMTALENT.COM

THE THERMALS
POB 12495
PDX, OR 97212
THETHERMALS@THETHERMALS.COM
WWW.THETHERMALS.COM

THANK YOU

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The Thermals Portland, Oregon

Post-pop-punk from Portland, Oregon

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