Dustin Kensrue – Carry The Fire
When Thrice announced that they would going on an ‘ indefinite hiatus’ over three years ago, Front-man Dustin Kensrue’s decision to go into the church came as little surprise to the majority of fans. The front-man’s lyrics whether wrapped in metaphors or more literally, have always leaned Dustin’s faith either directly like when he sings about us being ‘…the image of invisible’ on Vheissu’s opener The Image Of The Invisible or indirectly, when you look at the lyrics to most recent Thrice songs there has always been hints at Dustin’s religious beliefs. This faith came to the forefront when Dustin released The Water And The Blood, the 2012 follow-up to his folk/blues influenced début Please Come Home. The album left all the hints at Dustin’s faith at the door and was released as pretty much a straight up religious album. So if anything, the release of Carry The Fire is the follow-up that fans of Please Come Home have been waiting 8 years for. The question, of course, is ‘is it any good?’ Well in this reviewer’s opinion, after waiting a couple of weeks to truly get to know the album is a resounding yes.
The album’s opener, Ruby, is already a departure from anything we have heard from Kensrue on anything he has done solo or with Thrice. The piano driven, 50’s doo-wop style is a brave choice to have as an opener but one that, I think, pays off. The song sees the beginning of a theme that continues throughout the rest of the album, it plays out as a love letter to his wife. There is little to be found in the way of metaphors on this album and it is better for it. This is clearly written by a man who has found happiness, with a woman he loves. While that may sound cheesy, it is in fact, far from it. While this main theme of love is played out through the album, its other recurring themes stop it from ever becoming too cheesy, themes such as hopelessness and being a broken man appear quite often throughout. These earnest portraits are so well juxtaposed against the light melodies and sweetly performed piano, they make the album as a whole a real joyful and uplifting experience to listen to.
The thing I like about this album is its sheer variety, every song has a different feel to it yet the album feels so cohesive and flows so naturally throughout its short 35 minutes playing time. There is still a folk / Blues vibe to the album, not too dissimilar to Kensrue’s début. Yet this seems far more solid, Kensrue has dropped the twang in his voice that was so apparent on Please Come Home and has gone back to the voice that Thrice fans will be so familiar with, especially during their later work Beggars and Major/Minor. This album feels like Kensrue has found a formula that works for him and stuck by it which allows him to experiment within that sound to create songs that are completely different yet form one solid whole.
There really is a bit of everything on this album, second track Back To Back has a bluesy rocky shuffle, with a full band that never takes over Dustin’s excellent vocals throughout. There is an emotional ballad in the form of lead single Of Crows And Crowns, a song that was first played live over three years ago but has no doubt been improved thanks to the razor sharp production from Dustin himself. In Death Or Glory Kensrue, again showing his versatility, gives a Springsteen-esque performance which gives it a real rock and roll Americana kind of feel.
Carry The Fire is a record I defy any Thrice or Dustin Kensrue fan to not enjoy. There is a bit of everything on it and despite its meagre time of 35 minutes, there is so much good music packed in it, that it’s still excellent value.
Review: Francis Sebestjanowicz