The Thrills feel the chill
The punters have spoken and they are blanking Teenager. First-week sales figures for The Thrills’ new album were just as disappointing as the critical reaction to the band’s third album.
In Ireland, Teenager went into the album charts at number 24 on the back of just over 600 sales. At the time of writing, the album has slipped to number 29 on the midweek chart.
While the band performed well in Britain on their two previous releases, this was not the case with Teenager. The album limped into the Top 50 at number 48 in what was a very quiet week for new releases and was unable to out-sell year-old releases from Oasis, James Morrison and Kasabian.
During the lead-up to the album’s release, reviews of the album were largely negative with very few critics scoring it higher than two or three out of five.
The Guardian signalled out “cheesy lyrics” and “Conor Deasy’s reedy voice” for criticism, while The Independent found the band “labouring to sustain an increasingly threadbare formula, with an inevitable decline in songwriting standards”.
As is often the case, Irish reviews were kinder to the south Dublin band. The Ticket’s Tony Clayton-Lea said the album “reaches the triumphant summery heights of their 2003 debut, “So Much for the City”,” and the RTE Guide’s Alan Corr praised the album’s “trebly guitar sound, plangent mandolin and searing conviction”.
The Sunday Tribune’s Una Mullally pointed out, however, that “there’s little dexterity in the musicianship, and the whole thing feels stifled and forced.”
But the band and their label will be probably more concerned with the underwhelming retail response to the album, especially in Ireland. It’s a particularly terrible performance given the band’s high profile and the fact that it is their thrid album.
In their defence, you could point to the decision to go for a summer release date and the band’s low-key touring schedule. However, a late June release didn’t hinder the prospects of their So Much for the City debut four years ago.
Of course, sales may improve when the band tour later in the year. But such a low first week tally may well discourage the label from expanding more time, money and effort on the release. The Thrills could well be another Irish act facing a rocky future.
UPDATE “Teenager” dropped one place in the Irish charts today (it’s now at number 25) and the band have sold just over 1,000 copies in total.
The Thrill has gone.
Any word on a new long player from HAL?
Comment by Twenty Major | August 3, 2007 at 10:15 amI seem to recall hearing that HAL had split up. Anyone?
Comment by Jim Carroll | August 3, 2007 at 10:56 amplangent mandolin … and it still didn’t sell??
Comment by Peter | August 3, 2007 at 11:00 amFeeling the chill is an understatement. I saw The Thrills recent documentary ‘The End Of Innocence’ the pivotal moment of which occurs when the band are informed that their 2nd album has ‘only’ got to number 7 in the UK charts. They thought they were garaunteed another No.1 and their initial reaction to the news is akin to that of a family bereavement.
Comment by colly_browy | August 3, 2007 at 11:03 amCould you also attribute the album’s failure to the lack of commercial radio support for the lead single? The song itself was pretty much blanked by Phantom FM and others.
Comment by Neilo | August 3, 2007 at 11:11 amAlso, I fail to see how album sales will pick up when they’re easily one of the worst live acts I’ve ever seen.
HAL’s album is much more impressive than the Thrills more hyped work as far as I’m concerned. It says on Wikipedia a new HAL album is due later this year.
Comment by JP | August 3, 2007 at 11:46 amI seem to recall hearing that too. A few months back.
I think it may even have been due to “creative differences”.
Comment by John Cav | August 3, 2007 at 2:32 pmwow, less than 4 years on and they are hasbeens, but hey, its better to be a hasbeen than a neverwas, so if the heat is now off The Thrills, does that make them The Chills?
Comment by Rev Jules | August 3, 2007 at 4:38 pmWhile I can’t say that I am a ‘die-hard’ Thrills fan I have to say that whatever The Independent and Guardian are saying, the band were absolutely fantastic live last night in Cork - a club gig in the best sense - 60 minutes of direct and no-nonsense delivery. Really refreshing stuff. I would also have to say that after listening to their new album for a week or two that the Sunday Tribune’s evaluation was well wide of the mark - and I think that in fairness the album received very balanced appraisal in other publications (including your own). Your point is taken that chart positions and broadsheet reviews are important in the context of Irish bands trying to make it outside of Ireland (also referred to in your other article); but the other side of the coin is that bands should be able to convince their fans first and foremost - and The Thrills did that in spades last night! The listing section of the Irish Times commendably recommends one and all to go to their gig in Galway on Saturday, which leaves me with a real predicament at home - but one which the Independent and Guardian are obviously missing out on!
Comment by Vincent | August 3, 2007 at 6:07 pmPeter - i like a bit of plangent mandolin from time to time, but obviously there’s not enough of us out there
colly - someone else who saw that doc commented on that very same scene. i must check out the doc because i keep hearing good things about it
neilo - i must check out the radio airplay charts. i wouldnt be surprised if their old, debut album material was getting more play than Teenager.
JP/John Cav - No-one i spoke to today had any updates on Hal good, bad or indifferent. I remember listening to and liking their album a lot but thought they were terrible live (a bad ELO).
Rev Jules - I think they’ll probably always be able to get some gigs off the back of their debut here at least. Anyone care to suggest some alternative careers for them?
Vincent - the problem is that not enough of their fans went out and bought the darn album. Even with today’s figures (see update in main post), thats still less people buying the album than will go to see them on this irish tour. That doesnt bode well for any further investment from their label. Do the band have the hunger for the long hard road if they’re dropped? That’s the real litmus test
Comment by Jim Carroll | August 3, 2007 at 6:15 pmAlternative careers ? Hmm, they could always be the traveling support act to Hothouse Flowers
Comment by rev jules | August 4, 2007 at 12:00 am“Anyone care to suggest some alternative careers for them?”
Background artists for Dan and Becs?
Comment by Ian | August 4, 2007 at 1:12 pmAlternative career - they could head back to California and become surfers (sorry, Jules).
And doesn’t Liam O’Maonlai have his own alternative career as an Irish language teacher? Wasn’t there some freebie learn-Irish CDs with some newspaper recently?
Comment by aidan | August 4, 2007 at 5:30 pmGood to see jim and all you guys keeping the positive in focus and making sure anybody that get’s up off there arse and releases music is trampled by a bunch of people who like nothing more than to drag everything down into the shit,well done you should be proud of your work.
Comment by Cormac | August 6, 2007 at 2:04 pmcormac - why do you have a problem with the facts as presented above? The Thrills released an album - it got mixed reviews and sold poorly. These are the facts.
What should us “guys” do - pretend everything is fabulous and fantastic?
Please tell me you’re not really implying that “anybody that get’s up off there arse and releases music” gets an easy ride?
Comment by Jim Carroll | August 6, 2007 at 2:19 pmHi,sales do not indicate quality music and if by your argument high sales and large concert turnouts equal high quality then Bon jovi and aerosmith are “fabulous and fantastic” and rule the music industry which is not the case as we all know.
Comment by Cormac | August 6, 2007 at 5:47 pmNo i don’t think anyone should get an easy ride just for releasing music but neither should they be hung,drawn and quartered for not selling as many records or attracting as many punters as they once did.Many bands have highs and lows in a career and this may be a low but to suggest and infer that bands might be dropped by record labels for not being as popular as they once were is self fulfilling and does not help them or those who like yourself work in the industry,those in the know should stick to what they know and let record companies decide what is the best scenario rather than creating an atmosphere in the media where bands are seen as failures for only selling a million or so albums over a few years.
Many albums have been released and sold poorly to little critical acclaim by either those with facts or without only to be seen in later years as perhpas worth more attention(not in this case i fear) so perhaps don’t jump the gun.
Move on, you have reported about the thrills lack of sales for weeks why not move onto something positive rather than being negative which is a fact.
Don’t be a hater as you look like a spoilt child.
“Sales do not indicate quality music”
Fact - I never said this. Where do i say that, cormac? I never made that argument so please don’t try to put words in my mouth. I pointed out that The Thrills have under-performed commercially on their new album which also received poor reviews - I made no inferences good, bad or indifferent about the quality of their music while pointing this out. Stick to the facts.
“Many bands have highs and lows in a career and this may be a low but to suggest and infer that bands might be dropped by record labels for not being as popular as they once were is self fulfilling”
It’s not self-fulfilling because record labels dont drop bands based on 400 word articles in the Irish press. They drop bands based on poor performances and lack of commercial appeal. Its not about “infering” - again, it’s a fact.
“No i don’t think anyone should get an easy ride just for releasing music but neither should they be hung,drawn and quartered for not selling as many records or attracting as many punters as they once did”
Cormac, pointing out the facts is not the same as getting “hung,drawn and quartered”. If I was to hang, draw and quarter an act, there would be blood on the page. Fact.
“those who like yourself work in the industry,those in the know should stick to what they know and let record companies decide what is the best scenario rather than creating an atmosphere in the media where bands are seen as failures for only selling a million or so albums over a few years.”
Having worked extensively in both music and media industries all my life, I do think I “stick to what I know”. A high profile band’s third album has not performed well and I pointed this out. Again, where do I say that a band is a “failure” for only selling a million or so albums over a few years? Please have the courtesy and maturity not to put words into my mouth and stick to the substantive issue of the argument.
“Move on, you have reported about the thrills lack of sales for weeks”
Fact - this is the first time I have written about The Thrills since July 2003. And, more importantly, how could I report about the “lack of sales” for weeks when the sales figures were only available last week?
Comment by Jim Carroll | August 6, 2007 at 5:49 pmwhy not move onto something positive rather than being negative.
Comment by Cormac | August 6, 2007 at 6:24 pmDon’t be a hater as you look like a spoilt child.
Fact.
cormac - good to see that you’re responding to my counter-arguments so coherently and with such insights.
Comment by Jim Carroll | August 6, 2007 at 6:26 pmOk i’ll try.
Comment by Cormac | August 7, 2007 at 12:39 amIf you kick anything for long enough it will break.
it’s a little dis-honest and perhaps disingenuous for you to say that your 400 words for an irish paper makes no difference to the career of Irish band.If you feel that your facts and opinions are of such little worth i find it hard to understand why you are defending them and the facts that you are using to back them up.
Lots of people work in the Irish music industry but not everyone works for record labels so again if you feel you should have a say on who is kept on by record labels and you see that as a fact fine.I don’t and again creating an atmosphere where it is ok to suggest that because a band hasn’t sold more/done more then record companies should give it a long hard think is not a positive thing and is negative,if you don’t see that as fact fine.
This is the first time you have written about the thrills since 2003,my mistake your correct,so sorry.
Again what i’m saying is stop the negativity or facts as you see them….it’s been raining all summer and all see in this thread/blog is people kicking somone when they are down it dosen’t help and i still think it makes you all look like hot press from the 80’s and from an ireland i thought was well and truly gone but maybe my facts are incorrect and your facts are right.
If you think this thread moves things forward i can only disagree,it’s a cheap shot and lazy which is not what i would expect from someone who has so much more to offer.
Move on
cormac
“it’s a little dis-honest and perhaps disingenuous for you to say that your 400 words for an irish paper makes no difference to the career of Irish band.If you feel that your facts and opinions are of such little worth i find it hard to understand why you are defending them and the facts that you are using to back them up.”
thats not what i meant and you know it! Reviews and newspaper pieces are part of the equation but NOT the parts which convince record labels to take actions. That only happens when an audience abandons a band (as seems to be the case here) and then, the label will have to make up their mind based on commercial concerns. The reason why I keep mentioning facts is to point out that these are actually FACTS (ie provable events and occurences) and not opinion. You imply that I made a value call on the band’s music - I did not, the general public and ex-Thrills fans did that.
“Lots of people work in the Irish music industry but not everyone works for record labels so again if you feel you should have a say on who is kept on by record labels and you see that as a fact fine”
again, cormac - I didnt say this. As I have said again and again, I have just pointed to the fact that the band under-sold and under-performed and thus, the record label will have to decide what happens next. Given that private equity group Terra Firma have just taken over the label in question, they will be running the rule over expenditure and revenue and making judgement calls based solely on the bottom line and not pieces in the Irish, British or Turkish press.
“it’s been raining all summer and all see in this thread/blog is people kicking somone when they are down it dosen’t help and i still think it makes you all look like hot press from the 80’s and from an ireland i thought was well and truly gone but maybe my facts are incorrect and your facts are right.”
Cormac, you need to do some homework. Hot Press in the 1980s NEVER published a SINGLE negative review of ANY irish band. Thats how we ended up with Cry Before Dawn, Cactus World News and An Emotional Fish.
If “kicking someone when they’re down” means pointing out that a band’s audience have abandonded them so be it. I think your ire and that of other Thrills loyalists should really be directed at fickle Thrills fans who thought the new album was terrible and didn’t buy it.
“If you think this thread moves things forward i can only disagree”
Er, “move things forward”?? Cormac, this thread is people responding to a piece in last week’s paper/blog. It’s not about “moving things forward”, it’s about people reacting to a piece of news about a high profile Irish band.
“it’s a cheap shot and lazy which is not what i would expect from someone who has so much more to offer.”
While I thank you for that compliment (it is a compliment, right?), you really should see me when I am throwing “cheap shots” around. This, unfortunately, is not one of those times.
Comment by Jim Carroll | August 7, 2007 at 9:09 amSurely all The Thrills had to do was release a record which wasn’t shit, Cormac.
That’s hardly Jim’s fault. Unless Jim sabotaged the recordings. Which I doubt. Mostly.
Comment by Twenty Major | August 7, 2007 at 9:28 amI think Cormac would be better off going out buying a hundred copies of “Teenager” than making silly-billy points here.
Comment by Seb O'Neill | August 7, 2007 at 9:44 amIt was a compliment and you were not able to take it as that which is hard to understand.
If all the post was talking about was the actual record i would have said nothing but there is not one mention about the actual content of the record other than it hasn’t sold.This is just about if a band will survive due to poor sales figures in ireland which is like talking which is like talking about how many festivals we have in ireland.
If that’s not what you meant then don’t say it.
The fact that there “might be blood on the page” or you could really make a “cheap shot” is i hope not a statement of intent or a warning that it’s going to sink even further or perhaps this is only a prelude for when you really let us know what you think.
cheap and negative much like hot press in the 80’s.
Comment by Cormac | August 7, 2007 at 9:51 amSo very tired and again NEGATIVE
“If all the post was talking about was the actual record i would have said nothing but there is not one mention about the actual content of the record other than it hasn’t sold”
The whole point of the piece was to REPORT on the sales and reviews and NOT for me to give my opinion on the album. There’s a difference between a news piece (which this was) and a review/opinion (which this was not).
I think more people have probably read and responded to this thread than have bought the bloody album at this stage (now, THAT is a cheap shot).
Comment by Jim Carroll | August 7, 2007 at 9:55 ami didn’t even know the thrills had a record coming out until i saw the reviews!i wonder what’s going to happen to them.just seems like a lot of irish acts that are on bigger (or any!)labels are slowly starting to realise that it’s not here they should be worrying about,but outside the country and the mounting pressure from their paymasters to conquer other territories may break them.there were four signings to major labels in ireland last year to my knowledge or interest:out of the four,i can only think of one who have even made the slightest dent overseas (if i recall jim you are not a fan of them
) and the other three seem to be limited to selling out bigger venues here-but not much else.the same could happen to the thrills very shortly.
Comment by Gav | August 7, 2007 at 11:11 amI just have another observation, after seeing The Thrills in concert in Galway on Saturday night. The Thrills definitely had more female fans than male fans at the concerts in Cork and Galway. I was chatting with my wife about this after the gig and we both came to the conclusion that girls are definitely less likely to spend money on recorded music than guys - it is just that they spend relatively more of their disposable income on other things. I asked her then where do all her friends pick up on music - and it is the usual stuff: Radio and TV (and their male friends, which is how my wife got into The Thrills). But she also said that once they know a few tracks by a band they always like going to see them live.
There’s The Thrill’s predicament - from what I have seen this week they would definitely appear to have a live fanbase - but to go the distance will have to find some way of balancing this with sales. And yes it is most definitely a litmus test for The Thrills but hopefully after this tour (and the new album) they have the wherewithal to dig deep and make sure that Galway wasn’t an epilogue of sorts or more correctly a swansong!
Comment by Vincent | August 7, 2007 at 12:09 pmvincent - thanks again for your thoughtful post. It’s obvious that the band still maintain a live fanbase, but this is not currently translating into sales. The impetus is now on the band to show they want to re-capture those fickle fans or even a brand new fanbase. To do this will require a hunger, ambition and focus which cannot be faked.
I’d be interested to hear what other readers have to say about the gender divide when it comes to consuming music.
Comment by Jim Carroll | August 7, 2007 at 12:13 pm“those in the know should stick to what they know and let record companies decide what is the best scenario”
haha
Comment by UnaRocks | August 7, 2007 at 1:17 pmSurely if there is any gender divide in relation to sales it applies to every act and therefore ultimately balances out. If it applies to The Thrills then it equally applies to the other 47 artists who sold more records than them last week. People who bought The Thrills first album are buying Klaxons or Fratellis this year and they’l be buying someone else’s debut album next year. If you live by the teenybopper, you die by the teenybopper. The band seem to be under the impression that it’s the early 90’s and they’re REM. Unfortunate and all, because they do come across as quite an affable bunch…but still, would they swap places with Giveamanakick?
Oh and for the record NME described Teenager as “possibly the most hopeless release of the year”. None of the domestic publications were quite so cutting, so can we put an end to all the “aren’t us Irish so be-gruding be-jaysus” nonsense…
Comment by colly_browy | August 7, 2007 at 2:48 pmThis has been the funniest blog since Babs took control of On The Record.
Comment by Pedro | August 7, 2007 at 3:02 pmI think that we should really let this one go but on a forensic point NME described Teenager as ‘what many might call the most hopeless release of the year’. NME did however point out the noticable absence of Klaxons remixes - which may indeed explain the absence of the teenyboppers on the recent tour:-) NME’s review was quite positive (like The Irish Times) but one (bands even!) has always to be aware of hyperbole such as ‘A band striding confidently into countrified maturity at the peak of their powers’ (from the same NME review). I think that that even tops ‘plangent mandolin’
Comment by Vincent | August 8, 2007 at 7:55 pmTell ya what. The Thrills song remixed by Kíla on the free CD with the current Hot Press isn’t half bad, and their remix of the Kila track certainly demonstrates a countrified attitide, albeit a slightly started one.. Haven’t read the article yet, I’m actually afraid of it.
Comment by brautigan | August 9, 2007 at 10:20 amThe Thrills missed out on the digital evolution and their record company seems unwilling to address this- they should look at a band like the Blizzards who pay attention to their bebo and myspace, and have done since they first hit the scene, they need to personally connect with people again.
Comment by Maria | August 9, 2007 at 2:28 pmthats a good point maria. i was looking at the thrills site to guage fans reaction to the new record and I was amazed at the LACK of interaction going on.
Comment by Jim Carroll | August 9, 2007 at 3:19 pmFair enough point, but it’s a bad comparison.
The Blizzards are only starting out and while they have demonstrated that they are hitmakers and, as yet, fairly limited musically, they have also demonstrated a canny ability at marketing and getting their name out there. They have it sussed with the www fanbase via myspace/bebo and the like, they play at every conceivable festival going, they have a youthful appeal, a man on the street look and they have shoutalong singles that every teen and student can roar along to. It’s no surprise to see them support Kaiser Chiefs and Fratellis. They’re very much ‘that’ kind of a band, the band that always says they are maturing with the second album.
But looking at it closely, it’s very easy nowadays for a band to get in touch with and keep in contact with their fans.
When The Thrills released their first album in 2002/2003, the ‘digital revolution’ had yet to take off in the way it has over, say, the last two years. myspace/bebo/facebook etc weren’t even twinkles in Murdoch’s or anyone elses eyes, and the Irish festival scene was stale and stagnant. Even Witness only had 4 main stages with a 5th for the VIPs, a TV crew and the chancers.
The Thrills did it the old fashioned way - magazines like NME championed them, they got the mature UK rock mags behind them, and their pluggers worked like fuck to get them onto the radio, which, let us not forget, was also a stale enough environment with 2FM a fairly pitiful station, whilst the likes of Today FM had yet to come into their own they way they have in recent years. The Thrills also did very well in the UK before making an impression here.
Musically speaking, the Thrills are also in a different league. No offence to the Blizzards, but what they do is for a certain audience, one which likes it’s beer, likes it GAA, and likes to get hammered every weekend. Even from day one it was obvious The Thrills weren’t a mainstream band, they were aiming and reaching for an audience a little more knowing, older - cosmopolitan even. Their music has a lot of reference points that don’t come from the terraces and the mosh pits. It’s the same with all of the big league Irish bands.
But the main point is that releasing your first album in 2006 or 2007 is a very different thing than releasing your debut album back in 2002 or 2003.
Comment by Brautigan | August 9, 2007 at 5:44 pmAnd the Hot Press article isn’t bad as it happens. Not 1980’s enough for Cormac’s liking though!
; )
Comment by Brautigan | August 9, 2007 at 5:48 pmWill you be reporting the sales of Hal’s new album Jim? I demand fairness for every failed Irish indie band longing to read of their demise.
Comment by Ronan | August 9, 2007 at 7:54 pmNot a fan of hot press,
Not a fan of the Blizzards
Not a fan of the thrills
But what is very funny is watching the debate between who is better the thrills or the blizzards…bit like hot press in the 80’s cry before dawn or emotional fish? ehhh both rubbish…
Comment by Cormac | August 9, 2007 at 10:19 pmBrautigan - the thing is it’s now 2007 and regardless of how the band operated in 2003, they have to be web-savvy and use all the various tools at their disposal. The “old fashioned” way only works provided u have already a huge dedicated fanbase for your music - which, as the Thrills and their label and management found out last week, is not the case here.
I certainly wouldnt compare The Thrills and The Blizzards musically but, in terms of a business plan, The Blizzards have been a lot more astute in tending to their irish base. Of course, this is because no-one anywhere else is interested in them but they do have a Mundy-style career to fall back in that case. For The Thrills, who put all their eggs in the one basket, its a different matter. This story isn’t over yet, methinks.
Comment by Jim Carroll | August 10, 2007 at 10:15 amTrue enough Jim. But the old fashioned way did work for them first time around though. Problem is, they should have been savvy enough not to rest on their laurels.
Comment by Brautigan | August 10, 2007 at 10:22 amI’ve read some of those comments with dismay, I have been a big fan of The Thrills for years, I love all their records for the diversity of them. I’m not sure what music fans expect from records but its not just the melody, its the whole package. I fond Conor’s sonwriting skills pretty damned good. Teenager has a great quality of instrumental especially with the addition of the Mandolin, it brings an extra magic to the melodys. I’m a very proud Celt being a Scot and to be honest we Scots are very, very supportive of our musicians and I I would say I am pretty good judge of real good music being of an age I’ve been around for a good few decades, I just find it so sad that so many Irish slag off The Thrills instead of being proud of their achievements but most of all the decent human beings who still have their feet firmly on the gorund. Having met the lads on many occasions I have found them to be humble of their fans and total gentlemen. I am and will be a fan for life! Thats what diehard fans do, I’ll never be a run of the mill music fan and change bands like fashion. I beleive The Thrills are worth being a diehard fan for!
Comment by Elaine Skinner | October 5, 2007 at 10:14 pmHi there,
Comment by andrew coogan | November 7, 2007 at 7:53 pmim not a thrills fan,but appreciate their success.
I love our irish gig going record buying general public.
If somethings really good,good single,good airplay,they’l buy into it..
go see the gig,buy the album.(so much for the city)
I think there’s a vaccumm of people then who go along with it primarily….
Then? i feel….If you dont keep coming up with the goods? your on stand by…
with a smaller income..
smaller fan base…
enter the next artist… fionn regan or whoever….
plenty of concerts/gigs/music to buy and download….
hurray for choice….