Thursday seems to be sticking with what they do best.
The New Jersey natives hit the road a week ago on their Shirts for a Cure Tour and are no doubt playing “Counting 5-4-3-2-1” and other tunes from their forthcoming album A City By The Light Divided due on May 2.
After a few listens of the first single, I am optimistic.
The reason for my optimism is simple: it doesn’t sound drastically different from the music Thursday has given us before.
Lyricist/singer/frontman Geoff Rickly puts forth another solid performance on this track that on the surface could seem like another “Jet Black New Year”-esque tune with descending numbers serving as part of the hook. Yet Rickly does so while allowing listeners an intimate look at the tragic loss of a young life he experienced while growing up. This isn’t the only resonant song in Thursday repertoire to touch on this theme (“Steps Ascending” off 2003’s War All The Time).
I can certainly see why this one was chosen as the first single. The track is relatively straight forward, but much like Thursday music is composed of harmoniously blended guitar parts and a catchy melody all wrapped around lyrics with an emotional punch.
While “Counting 5-4-3-2-1” has very professional and clean sounding production, the style is reminiscent of Thursday’s break-out album Full Collapse, released in 2001. Not exceptionally surprising is the explanation on Thursday’s website that this song was actually written back in the days of Full Collapse but the guys had never been really pleased with the recording of it.
What also helps bridge the gap between the days when Thursday were a band playing songs off “Waiting” (2000) in basements in New Brunswick to what they’ve become today is the continued themes in Rickly’s lyrics. The reoccurring lines “Burn this city/burn this city tonight” in this new joint remind Thursday fans that the days of “Paris in Flames” and perhaps even “Dying in New Brunswick” are not gone.
