Thrice - The Alchemy Index, Vol. III & IV: Air and Earth Review

When we last left Thrice (http://www.sputnikmusic.com/album.php?reviewid=13824), the first part of their four EP collection, The Alchemy Index, was subject to a wide range of criticism. Outside of Sputnikmusic, where the reception was generally favorable, the band was criticized for satisfying the premise of this project too literally. Prefix mag summed up the most negative aspects of the album succinctly by claiming, "Fire & Water contains too much artifice to swallow." However, they also suggested that Thrice had "screamo contemporaries" and a "neo-classical ear for arrangement," so maybe their reduction of the first half of The Alchemy Index is also drastically off the mark. Certainly Village Voice's comment, "a bit of Pete Wentz's tune sense would've gone a long way," is slap to the face to everything Thrice has stood for over the years....full text On the last two installments of this four-part series, Thrice almost completely tosses the striking, guitar-heavy sound for which it's known. For "The Alchemy Index Vols. III & IV: Air & Earth," the material is appropriately lofty to represent the former element but surprisingly sparse for the latter. "A Song for Milly Michaelson" and "Daedalus" convey the polarized, meandering spirit of "Air," which sometimes drifts gently and sometimes blows in hard gusts. "Earth" is even more delicate than "Air," with cuts like "Digging My Own Grave" and "The Lion and the Wolf" set to spartan piano lines....full text