''Beggars'' is the seventh studio album by American
rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
band
Thrice
Thrice is an American rock band from Irvine, California, formed in 1998. The group was founded by guitarist/vocalist Dustin Kensrue and lead guitarist Teppei Teranishi while they were in high school.
Early in their career, the band was known ...
. It was released
digitally through
Vagrant Records
Vagrant Records is an American record label based in California. It was founded in 1995 by Rich Egan and Jon Cohen. The label focuses on rock, but features artists in a variety of other genres including folk, soul, electronic, and pop. It is home ...
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.
Background and production
Between September 2006 and June 2007, Thrice recorded a project revolving around the elements fire, water, air and earth. Dubbed ''The Alchemy Index'', it was released as two double-discs sets: ''
Vols. I & II: Fire & Water'' in October 2007, and ''
Vols. III & IV: Air & Earth'' in April 2008.
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
''Vheissu'' (pronounced "vee-sue") is the fourth studio album by American rock band Thrice. Released on October 18, 2005, through Island Records, the album spawned one charting single, "Image of the Invisible", which peaked at No. 24 on Billboar ...
'' and ''The Alchemy Index'', which they felt had a "sleepy feeling" to them.
Though Kensrue took a break from the writing process to go on a brief US tour later in the month. ''The Alchemy Index'' saw the group write to theme-specific elements,
[ and record in a split manner: two of the members would be work on an acoustic song, while drummer ]Riley Breckenridge
James Riley Breckenridge (born January 5, 1975) is the drummer for the band Thrice. He plays Q Drums, and uses Vic Firth drumsticks, Zildjian cymbals, Remo drumheads, with Drum Workshop hardware and pedals.
Biography
The older brother of Thrice ...
was focused on programming for the ''Water'' element, or bassist Eddie Breckenridge would be writing bass parts for the ''Fire'' element.[
It resulted in the band spending less time together to work on ideas.] With ''Beggars'', it became a collaboration between the members where they jammed on material and crafted songs as a unit.[ Recording took place at New Grass Studios,][ which was built by the band themselves in guitarist Teppei Teranishi's garage. It was done with the aims of saving money and allowing the band members to spend more time with their families.][ The band as a whole and Teranishi separately received joint producer credit; Teranishi also served as the engineer.][ They typically recorded around four takes of any given track, which they'd stich together to make a version they felt was interesting.] Sessions began in March, and after 13 tracks had been recorded, they concluded in June; Dave Schiffman mixed the recordings, before they were mastered by Howie Weinberg
Howie Weinberg is an American audio mastering engineer with over 2,257 mastering credits, three TEC Awards, 21 Grammy Awards, two Juno Awards, and one Mercury Prize.
Career
Weinberg mastered Herbie Hancock's 1983 album ''Future Shock''. Other m ...
at Masterdisk.[
]
Composition
Overview
It incorporated elements of their ''Vheissu
''Vheissu'' (pronounced "vee-sue") is the fourth studio album by American rock band Thrice. Released on October 18, 2005, through Island Records, the album spawned one charting single, "Image of the Invisible", which peaked at No. 24 on Billboar ...
'' (2005) and ''The Alchemy Index'' releases, namely from the ''Water''[ and ''Air'' discs.][ ''Beggars'' saw Teranishi and Kensrue take influence from ]blues
Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...
music, while Eddie and Riley Breckenridge centered their attention on grooves.[ It drew comparison to ]Radiohead
Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards); brothers Jonny Greenwood (lead guitar, keyboards, other instruments) and Colin Greenwood (bass) ...
[ and ]Muse
In ancient Greek religion and mythology, the Muses ( grc, Μοῦσαι, Moûsai, el, Μούσες, Múses) are the inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the ...
.[ The band wanted a dry drum tone for "Circles", which they were unable to get in their garage studio. They decided to put blankets on Riley Breckenridge's kit, which they ended up using for several of the songs.][
All of the music was written by the band, while Kensrue wrote almost all of the lyrics, bar "We Move Like Swing Sets" (which was written by Eddie Breckenridge).][ Kensrue said writing lyrics were a slow process for him due to being a perfectionistic and thinking of every aspect of a song, such as its mood and ]metre
The metre (British spelling) or meter (American spelling; see spelling differences) (from the French unit , from the Greek noun , "measure"), symbol m, is the primary unit of length in the International System of Units (SI), though its pref ...
. He spent two consecutive weeks working on lyrics, before going to see the ''Star Trek
''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the eponymous 1960s television series and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has expanded into vari ...
'' (2009) film, which spurred him to write the words to "The Weight" and "Wood and Wire".[
He covered the lyrical themes of commitment to marriage, relationships breaking down and salvation.][ The release is a ]concept album
A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. Som ...
about "love, loss, and the inequality of man".[ On the subject of the record's title, Kensrue also commented: "I think we are at most times deluded in thinking that we are totally responsible for our circumstances, but in the end almost everything is beyond our control to a high degree and we can't even be sure we will wake up tomorrow. everything in life is a gift at its core; we are beggars all."
]
Tracks
The lyrics of opening track "All the World Is Mad" depict an apocalyptic-type world with an entity who wants the goodness of humanity.[ Its music recalled ]Godspeed You! Black Emperor
Godspeed You! Black Emperor (sometimes abbreviated to GY!BE or Godspeed) is a Canadian post-rock band which originated in Montreal, Quebec in 1994. The group releases recordings through Constellation, an independent record label also located i ...
and Muse,[ incorporating the use of ]polyrhythm
Polyrhythm is the simultaneous use of two or more rhythms that are not readily perceived as deriving from one another, or as simple manifestations of the same meter. The rhythmic layers may be the basis of an entire piece of music (cross-rhyth ...
s.[ "The Weight" shifts from an ]minimalistic Minimalism is a movement in visual arts, music, and other media that began in post–World War II Western art.
Minimalism may also refer to:
*Minimalism (computing), a philosophy of programming and configuring computers
*Minimalism (philosophy), ...
arrangement to loud guitars with syncopated
In music, syncopation is a variety of rhythms played together to make a piece of music, making part or all of a tune or piece of music off-beat. More simply, syncopation is "a disturbance or interruption of the regular flow of rhythm": a "place ...
rhythms in the vein of Verra Cruz
Verra Cruz, are an English rock band trio originally from St Albans, England. They formed in 2003, and have since released two studio albums and one extended play.
Background
They were formed by vocalist, guitarist, and lap steel player, Marc ...
; it discusses the theme of marriage.[ "Circles" evolved out of a demo, which consisted of electronic instrumentation, that Riley Breckenridge had written. They tried to emulate the electronic drums with added percussion during the chorus sections.] The final version is a piano-driven track, led by Teranishi's electric piano;[ Kensrue's voice recalled Radiohead frontman ]Thom Yorke
Thomas Edward Yorke (born 7 October 1968) is an English musician and the main vocalist and songwriter of the rock band Radiohead. A multi-instrumentalist, he mainly plays guitar and keyboards and is noted for his falsetto. He has been describe ...
with his whispering-styled vocals. It builds with looped
''Looped'' is a play by Matthew Lombardo about an event surrounding actress Tallulah Bankhead. It had a Broadway run in 2010, after two previous productions in 2008 and 2009, all three of them featuring Valerie Harper.
Plot
Based on a real even ...
guitar parts and drums, leading to a breakdown
Breakdown may refer to:
Breaking down
*Breakdown (vehicle), failure of a motor vehicle in such a way that it cannot be operated
*Chemical decomposition, also called chemical breakdown, the breakdown of a substance into simpler components
*Decompo ...
near the track's end.[ "Doublespeak" features walls of ]feedback
Feedback occurs when outputs of a system are routed back as inputs as part of a chain of cause-and-effect that forms a circuit or loop. The system can then be said to ''feed back'' into itself. The notion of cause-and-effect has to be handled ...
against piano chord progressions.[ It talks about people that purposely live in ignorance to remain in a place of privilege despite the expense of others.]
Southern rock
Southern rock is a subgenre of rock music and a genre of Americana. It developed in the Southern United States from rock and roll, country music, and blues and is focused generally on electric guitars and vocals. Author Scott B. Bomar speculat ...
track "In Exile" talks about being exiled in perpetuity and going on an immeasurable pilgrimage.[ "At the Last" sees Kensrue rallying against ]consumerism
Consumerism is a social and economic order that encourages the acquisition of goods and services in ever-increasing amounts. With the Industrial Revolution, but particularly in the 20th century, mass production led to overproduction—the supp ...
;[ the guitar work recalled the sound of ]grunge
Grunge (sometimes referred to as the Seattle sound) is an alternative rock genre and subculture that emerged during the in the American Pacific Northwest state of Washington, particularly in Seattle and nearby towns. Grunge fuses elements of p ...
.[ The ]psychedelic
Psychedelics are a subclass of hallucinogenic drugs whose primary effect is to trigger non-ordinary states of consciousness (known as psychedelic experiences or "trips").Pollan, Michael (2018). ''How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of ...
track "Wood and Wire" utilises distortion
In signal processing, distortion is the alteration of the original shape (or other characteristic) of a signal. In communications and electronics it means the alteration of the waveform of an information-bearing signal, such as an audio signal ...
and dubbing
Dubbing (re-recording and mixing) is a post-production process used in filmmaking and video production, often in concert with sound design, in which additional or supplementary recordings are lip-synced and "mixed" with original production sou ...
effects,[ while its feedback-enhanced verses were reminiscent of the intro to "Of Dust and Nations", a track from the group's ''Vheissu'' album.][ It is sung from the viewpoint of a man, who has been in prison for 14 years for an offense he didn't commit, as he walks to his execution. The chorus section features lyrics adapted from the works of ]St. Paul
Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...
.[ "Talking Through Glass" ends with an acoustic coda.][ Kensrue said "The Great Exchange" is a metaphor for ]the gospel
The gospel or good news is a theological concept in several religions. In the historical Roman imperial cult and today in Christianity, the gospel is a message about salvation by a divine figure, a savior, who has brought peace or other benefits ...
, which he tried to present as an emotional story.[ It discusses the failed rebellion of a ship's crew, and one individual who drifted to sea.][ The backing vocals on it recalled those heard in "]Nude
Nudity is the state of being in which a human is without clothing.
The loss of body hair was one of the physical characteristics that marked the biological evolution of modern humans from their hominin ancestors. Adaptations related to h ...
" by Radiohead.[ The title-track begins with a ]jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...
-esque drum beat and builds to a crescendo with screaming
A scream is a loud speech production, vocalization in which air is passed through the vocal cords with greater force than is used in regular or close-distance vocalisation. This can be performed by any creature possessing lungs, including human ...
. It sees Kensrue ask questions in the vein of the Book of Job
The Book of Job (; hbo, אִיּוֹב, ʾIyyōḇ), or simply Job, is a book found in the Ketuvim ("Writings") section of the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh), and is the first of the Poetic Books in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. Scholars ar ...
about businessmen, scientists and politicians, among others.[
]
Release
In June 2009, ''Beggars'' was announced for release in October.[ Following this, the band performed on the ]Warped Tour
The Warped Tour was a traveling rock tour that toured the United States plus three or four stops in Canada annually each summer from 1995 until 2019. It was the largest traveling music festival in the United States and the longest-running touring ...
between late June and late August. 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 version of the album was leaked to the internet in July. The label subsequently issued a statement claiming that someone hacked into their system, and proceeded to crack the log in details. Kensrue later clarified that it was someone who had access to Vagrant's FTP server; Riley Breckenridge added that it was an unmastered promotional copy with voiceovers on each track that had leaked.[ The band themselves responded to the leak, stating they were "disappointed" but "moving forward".
Kensrue said they had two choices: continue with the planned October release date, or release it as legally as was possible and offer bonus tracks on the CD edition. The original release date of October 13 was changed to an initially digital-only release on August 9 (UK) and August 11 (US), with a physical release following on September 15. The physical release contains a card with a code to download five bonus tracks, including two outtakes, "Answered," and "Red Telephone" from the ''Beggars'' sessions, a cover of ]the Beatles
The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...
' " 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 (which featured people eating)[ 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 switch to a different image that they had "proper clearance on." The original iTunes artwork was the Thrice logo; the final artwork consisted of people fishing,][ which was taken by Stanley Tretick.][
For the band's previous albums, a portion of each copy sold went a specific charity, chosen by the band. However, for ''Beggars'' the group found difficulty in working out all the legal paperwork with various labels and publishing companies. As a result, they gave the ]Invisible Children, Inc.
Invisible Children, Inc., founded in 2004, is an organization to increase awareness of the activities of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) in Central Africa, and its leader, Joseph Kony. Specifically, the group seeks to put an end to the practices ...
organization a booth on dates of their tours where fans could get involved.[ The band went on a three-week US tour supporting Brand New in October and November 2009. on their way back to their home state of California, the band went on a headlining tour with support from ]the Deer Hunter
''The Deer Hunter'' is a 1978 war drama film co-written and directed by Michael Cimino about a trio of Slavic-American steelworkers whose lives were upended after fighting in the Vietnam War. The three soldiers are played by Robert De Niro, Chr ...
and Polar Bear Club
Polar Bear Club was an American post-hardcore band from Rochester and Syracuse in upstate New York. Formed in 2005, the band underwent multiple line-up changes, with vocalist Jimmy Stadt and lead guitarist Chris Browne as the only consistent me ...
, running through to December 2009.[ A music video was released for "In Exile", which premiered through the group's Myspace profile on November 26. It was shot in black-and-white, and consisted of touring footage both on-and-off stage interspersed with clips of ]industrial America
Manufacturing in the United States is a vital sector. The United States is the world's third largest manufacturer (after the People's Republic of China and the European Union) with a record high real output in Q1 2018 of $2.00 trillion (i.e., ad ...
. On January 4, 2010, a Daytrotter
Daytrotter is a recording studio, music venue and subscription-based music discovery website located in Atlanta, United States. It hosts recording sessions with indie music acts.
The original studio in Rock Island, Illinois, was founded in 2006 ...
session was posted online with the band performing versions of "All the World Is Mad", "Circles" and "Beggars". Following this, the band went on a tour of the UK. In April 2010, the band went on a co-headlining US tour with Manchester Orchestra
Manchester Orchestra is an American indie rock band from Atlanta formed in 2004. The group is composed of rhythm guitarist-singer-songwriter Andy Hull, lead guitarist Robert McDowell, bassist Andy Prince and drummer Tim Very. Former drummer Jer ...
, and were supported by O'Brother
O'Brother is an American rock band from Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulto ...
. The trek was intended to last into May 2010; on April 26, 2010, the rest of the shows were cancelled due to a family emergency that saw Kensrue fly home. Following this, they went on a North American tour with support from Kevin Devine
Kevin Devine (born December 19, 1979) is an American songwriter and musician from Staten Island, New York City, who is known for his introspective and political themes. He is a contemporary member of the underground indie rock and indie folk m ...
, Bad Veins
Bad Veins is an American indie pop musical project by Benjamin Davis, formed in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States.
History
Known for sporting vintage military clothing, using a telephone to sing into while performing, and utilizing an old reel-to ...
and the Dig. An additional leg of shows was added, extending the trek into July 2010.
Reception
Critical response
Critical reaction to ''Beggars'' has been extremely positive. Writing for Alternative Press
Alternative press may refer to:
Individual publications
* ''Alternative Press'' (magazine), an American music magazine
Alternative journalism
* Alternative media
** Alternative media (U.S. political left)
** Alternative media (U.S. political ri ...
, 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.[ Nick Greer's review for ]Sputnikmusic
Sputnikmusic is an American music community website offering music criticism and music news alongside features commonly associated with wiki-style websites. The format of the website is unusual in that it includes both professional and amateur c ...
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."[
]
Commercial performance and accolades
In the first week of ''Beggars'' physical release, it sold 11,686 copies. It charted at number 47 on the ''Billboard'' 200;[ it charted on three other component charts: number 4 on ]Independent Albums
The Independent Albums chart (previously titled Top Independent Albums) ranks the highest-selling independent music albums and extended plays (EPs) in the United States, as compiled by Nielsen SoundScan and published weekly by '' Billboard'' maga ...
,[ number 7 on ]Alternative Albums
The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in ''Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ''Billboard'' charts, pr ...
,[ and number 14 on ]Top Rock Albums
The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in ''Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ''Billboard'' charts, pr ...
.[
''Blare'' included the album at second place on their top 50 albums of 2009 list.]
Track-listing
All music by Thrice and all lyrics by Dustin Kensrue, except "We Move Like Swing Sets" by Eddie Breckenridge
Thrice is an American rock band from Irvine, California, formed in 1998. The group was founded by guitarist/vocalist Dustin Kensrue and lead guitarist Teppei Teranishi while they were in high school.
Early in their career, the band was known ...
.[
]
Personnel
Personnel per booklet.
Thrice
* Dustin Kensrue
Dustin Michael Kensrue (pronounced KENZ-roo) is a musician, singer and songwriter. He is the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist in the rock band Thrice, as well as a solo artist.
Career
2007: Please Come Home
On October 10, 2006, it was a ...
lead-vocals, rhythm-guitar
* Teppei Teranishi
Thrice is an American rock band from Irvine, California, formed in 1998. The group was founded by guitarist/vocalist Dustin Kensrue and lead guitarist Teppei Teranishi while they were in high school.
Early in their career, the band was known ...
lead-guitar, keyboards
* Eddie Breckenridge
Thrice is an American rock band from Irvine, California, formed in 1998. The group was founded by guitarist/vocalist Dustin Kensrue and lead guitarist Teppei Teranishi while they were in high school.
Early in their career, the band was known ...
bass
* Riley Breckenridge
James Riley Breckenridge (born January 5, 1975) is the drummer for the band Thrice. He plays Q Drums, and uses Vic Firth drumsticks, Zildjian cymbals, Remo drumheads, with Drum Workshop hardware and pedals.
Biography
The older brother of Thrice ...
drums
Production
* Thriceproducer
* Teppei Teranishiproducer, engineer
* Dave Schiffmanmixing
* Howie Weinberg
Howie Weinberg is an American audio mastering engineer with over 2,257 mastering credits, three TEC Awards, 21 Grammy Awards, two Juno Awards, and one Mercury Prize.
Career
Weinberg mastered Herbie Hancock's 1983 album ''Future Shock''. Other m ...
mastering
* Nathan Warketinart design, interior booklet photos
* Stanley Tretickcover photo
* Matt Wignallinterior booklet photos
Charts
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Beggars (Album)
Thrice albums
2009 albums
Vagrant Records albums