Artist: Thermal And A Quarter
Album: Three Wheels and Nine Lives
Label: Thermal And A Quarter
Mastering: Sterling Sound (New York)
Release: 2012
‘Three Wheels and Nine Lives’ is the 5th album release of Thermal And A Quarter. An amalgamation of Blues, Funk, Rock and Grunge. With already 4 studio albums and quite a reputation in the rock fraternity, Thermal and a Quarter (TAAQ) is going places.
The album itself is a multi-disc set comprising of unreleased and live material. The album has been inspired from their recent tour of Singapore among other things.
Been around since 1996, Thermal and a Quarter are, Bruce Lee Mani (guitars & vocals), Rajeev Rajagopal (drums) and Prakash K N (bass). The Phish-meets- Steely Dan-via-Mahavishnu-Orchestra style of TAAQ has been appreciated and elevated to a position of pride and critical respect by rock aficionados, independent music enthusiasts as well as the international community. ‘This Is It’ was the band’s previous release way back in 2009.They have been touring ever since internationally for the past one year with performances with artists such as Deep Purple, JethroTull, Megadeth, Machine Head and Greg Howe. Even in India, as per their website, the number of gigs done by these guys is in double digits. They recently opened for international acts Guns n Roses and Simple Plan that played at Bangalore and Mumbai respectively.
Front man Bruce Lee Mani won Guitarist of the Year at Rolling Stone/Jack Daniels Awards 2009; also won Leon Ireland Vocalist Of The Year Award in 2011.Ranked #48 in Blender magazine’s 100 Ultimate Rock Bands among top international acts. TAAQs stellar musicianship, hard-hitting lyrics, and fluid improvised style makes their performance an unforgettable immersive musical experience.
The funky basslines and drum grooves provide an upbeat tone to TAAQ‘s music. This gives it a retro feel unlike the releases of other bands belonging to a similar genre. At the same time, some tracks are more laid back. In Contrast the lyrics are much more serious and likely to leave the listener in a mood for introspection. Bruce Lee Mani has good vocals and has done a good job throughout the album. He presents a versatility that makes him able to support the tracks well.
The music can get a bit technically bland and repetitive at times. A number of tracks on the album do have traces of jazz with use of instruments like saxophone, flute and keyboards in them. This is an interesting addition to overall setup. Also the inclusion of these in specific tracks gives a unique flavor to each of them.
Various arpeggiated guitar patterns add a pleasant sound to the album. Reminiscent of some of progressive and funk rock acts that have been around. Ho-Hum an instrumental track on the album is a good example of this.
The band has a tight sound with excellent collaboration among all members of the band. The album enjoys certain level on continuity across the certain sections of the album. Though this band’s music has influences from various styles of music, the fusions of these styles presented gives an excellent unique flavor to this release. Interesting guitar solos by Bruce makes the track go towards different places. The man is as good a vocalist as he is a musician.
The vocals takes the audience on a rollercoaster ride with breaks and crashes which goes either supported or in ensemble with the rest of the band. Various moods are potrayed on this album from the upbeat and aggressive to the funky and blues driven. Considering the various musical ideas the band wants to potray on the album the 20 odd tracks plus the bonus tracks on the album seem justified. So another massive release worth catching especially if you’re a fan of TAAQ and also if you wish to explore what music is being put out by one of the reputable band of the Indian music scene.
