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Beggars (album)

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Released
  
August 9, 2009

Beggars (2009)
  
Major/Minor (2011)

Release date
  
9 August 2009

Label
  
Vagrant Records

Length
  
43:44

Artist
  
Thrice

Producer
  
Teppei Teranishi

Beggars (album) wwwredefinemagcomwpcontentuploads201209200

Recorded
  
March–June 2009 at New Grass Studios

Genres
  
Post-hardcore, Alternative rock, Experimental rock, Indie rock

Similar
  
Thrice albums, Indie rock albums

Thrice beggars 2009 full album


Beggars is the sixth studio recording (and seventh studio album release) by American rock band Thrice. It was released digitally through Vagrant Records in the UK on August 9, 2009 and in the US on August 11, 2009. A physical release containing bonus material was released on September 15, 2009.

Contents

Writing and recording

Writing for Beggars began in January 2009, with the band aiming to make the record "a little more upbeat and energetic" following their two previous projects, Vheissu and The Alchemy Index, which they felt had a "sleepy feeling" to them. The recording process took place in a studio built by the band themselves in guitarist Teppei Teranishi's garage, with the aims being to save money and allow the band members to spend more time with their families.

Speaking about the record, vocalist and guitarist Dustin Kensrue stated:

On the subject of the record's title, Kensrue also commented:

Release

The first single, "All the World Is Mad," was released as a downloadable song in Guitar Hero: World Tour on July 23.

Due to security flaws with a web player that Vagrant Records had been using for the past three years, a promotional version of the album was leaked to the internet on July 20, 2009. The label subsequently issued a statement claiming that "someone clearly and unfortunately went out of their way" to hack into their system, and that "the link got into the wrong hands and someone took the time to figure out how to get around the password and user log in." The band themselves later responded to the leak, stating they were "disappointed" but "moving forward," while also stating that the record's "entire retail marketing plan" was being changed.

As a result of the leak, the original release date of October 13 was changed to an initially digital-only release on August 9, 2009 (UK) and August 11, 2009 (US), with a physical release following on September 15, 2009. The physical release contains a card with a code to download five bonus tracks, including two B-sides, "Answered," and "Red Telephone" from the Beggars sessions, a cover of The Beatles' "Helter Skelter," as well as remixes of "All the World Is Mad" and "Circles."

Due to the change of release date, the original cover art for the album was changed, with the band being unable to "wait on the clearances" for the photo that was to be used for it, and having to "move onto a different photo" that they had "proper clearance on."

A vinyl release has been announced, with a limited run of 2000 copies. An 11"x11" color booklet will be included, signed by the band. A digital download card will also be included. There will be various colors available, all less than 500 copies each.

Reception

Critical reaction to Beggars has been extremely positive. Writing for Alternative Press, Scott Heisel called the album a "textbook example of the term 'creative milestone,'" and concluded that the band "have achieved that rare feat of actually progressing and maturing," rating the album as 4.5 out of 5. In his review for AbsolutePunk, Chris Fallon called Beggars a "beautifully-crafted album that catches more attention with every listen." He also praised Dustin Kensrue's songwriting capabilities, stating that "on songs that tells stories like 'Wood & Wire,' we witness a true musician building significance not only for himself and his bandmates, but for those who understand his talents." He awarded the album a score of 93%. Nick Greer's review for Sputnikmusic claimed that "softer songs" on the album, "namely 'Circles,' 'Wood & Wire,' and 'The Great Exchange,' are haunting and sad in a way Thrice has never captured before", and stated that "instrumentally, the band has never been better". Despite this he went on to call the album "at once familiar and alienating", and claimed that the band had fallen "into a complacent territory that doesn't truly push their music to new heights." He gave the album 3.5 out of 5, concluding by calling Beggars the sound of a band "settling into a sweet spot that neither attempts to leap past the achievements of previous albums nor away from what has made them so great for so long."

Accolades

(*) designates unordered lists.

Track listing

All lyrics written by Dustin Kensrue, except for "We Move Like Swing Sets" (Eddie Breckenridge) and "Helter Skelter" (Lennon–McCartney); all music composed by Thrice, except where noted.

Personnel

Thrice

  • Dustin Kensrue – lead vocals, rhythm guitar
  • Teppei Teranishi – lead guitar, keyboards, piano, vocals on "Red Telephone"
  • Eddie Breckenridge – bass, vocals on "Talking Through Glass / We Move Like Swingsets"
  • Riley Breckenridge – drums, percussion
  • Production

  • Produced by Thrice and Teppei Teranishi at New Grass Studios
  • Engineered by Teppei Teranishi
  • Mixed by Dave Schiffman
  • Mastered by Howie Weinberg at Masterdisk
  • Art

  • Art design by Nathan Warketin
  • Interior booklet photos by Matt Wignall and Nathan Warketin
  • Cover art by Stanley Tretick
  • Songs

    1All the World Is Mad3:58
    2The Weight5:00
    3Circles4:19

    References

    Beggars (album) Wikipedia