Album Reviews

Thorcraft Cobra

The Distance

Artist:     Thorcraft Cobra

Album:     The Distance

Label:     Plaza Bowl Records

Release Date:    

80

To the restless dreamers stuck in dead-end towns, The Distance might be a source of salvation. Departures, arrivals and the oftentimes adventurous journeys people take to escape such depressed circumstances provide fodder for the aching, true-to-life stories and lyrical musings found on the latest world-weary album from indie-pop duo Thorcraft Cobra.

Fond of strummed guitars, wistful melodies and crisp drumming, Billy Zimmer (Brown Eyed Susans) and Tammy Glover (Sparks) revisit the folky, classic-rock sounds of Laurel Canyon on The Distance, taking it easy on lazy, engaging drifters searching for some kind of peace, such as “It’s OK,” “Carolina” and “Serenade The Silence.” Their light hooks gently coax listeners from sweet slumber, softly pulling away the covers rather than shaking them awake, although “Killing Time” reveals a jangly, more electric side of Thorcraft Cobra’s otherwise sleepy personality and “No One Believes Her” comes on strong, rushing in with an assured air about it that Matthew Sweet would admire. And there’s an even fuller, more refined pop sensibility at work in “Fade to White,” which sparkles and sighs beautifully with sweeping resignation. It makes trudging through the slow, laborious “Caught in Between” and “Uncoupling” all worth it, as The Distance too often comes off as straightforward and generic – seemingly devoid of the kind of dynamics that would make things just a tad more interesting.

—Peter Lindblad

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