Call me old-fashioned, but when I think Saddle Creek Records, I think of Cursive and other bands that are friends with Cursive. Really, call me old-fashioned for that view, as it’s woefully out-of-date. For years now, Saddle Creek’s been operating outside of their original Omaha-centric wheelhouse. I mean, they signed The Rural Alberta Advantage, a band from a country that doesn’t even have an Omaha! Portland’s The Thermals are also not from Omaha, mostly because they’re from Portland. They’ve also got a new record, Desperate Ground, coming out April 16 through Saddle Creek.
While, as we have established, The Thermals are not from Omaha, they do share a long relationship of friendship with Saddle Creek. The Faint have been known to sleep on Thermals frontman Hutch Harris’s floor. Way back in 1999, Harris and bassist Kathy Foster organized the first Bright Eyes show in Portland.
Desperate Ground was produced by John Agnello (Sonic Youth, Dinosaur Jr, Kurt Vile, dozens and dozens of others) in Hoboken, New Jersey, a job which was completed mere hours before Hurricane Sandy hit the state. According to the band, lyrically the record is “a brash and irresponsible ode to human violence, a black celebration of the inevitability of war and death.” Sounds fun! And, since it’s a Thermals record, it probably will be fun.
Desperate Ground tracklist:
01. Born to Kill
02. You Will Be Free
03. The Sunset
04. I Go Alone
05. The Sword by My Side
06. You Will Find Me
07. Faces Stay with Me
08. The Howl of the Winds
09. Where I Stand
10. Our Love Survives
Dates:
03.01.13 - San Francisco, CA - Noise Pop @ Rickshaw Stop
03.02.13 - Cupertino, CA - Homestead Lanes Bowling Alley
03.07.13 - Brooklyn, NY - 285 Kent
03.08.13 - Clinton, NY - Beinekie Events Barn @ Hamilton College
03.09.13 - Hoboken, NJ - Maxwell’s
03.13-16.13 - Austin, TX - SXSW
03.18.13 - Los Angeles, CA - Echoplex (Check Yo Ponytail)
• The Thermals: http://www.thethermals.com
• Saddle Creek: http://saddle-creek.com