Jeff’s Songbook – “Atlantic” by Thrice

LYRICS

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(Jeff Sistrunk is a journalism student at the University of Arkansas. He’s dedicated this week’s Songbook entries to those summer tunes that catch in your head.)

Orange County, California- based Thrice remains one of the most underappreciated acts in modern rock. After attracting a rabid underground following with admittedly mediocre hardcore in the early 2000′s, Thrice exploded creatively, exploring stylistic crevices that its contemporaries on the scene would never dare touch.

On 2005′s “Vheissu,” Thrice finally came into its own and delivered a broad statement. Featuring everything from pummeling metal breakdowns to atmospheric prog-rock guitars to a cappella vocal sections, “Vheissu” is an incredibly diverse yet cohesive work.

With “Atlantic,” singer/songwriter Dustin Kensrue wrote something new for a Thrice album: a pure love song. “Atlantic”‘s chilly keyboard line is initially alienating; it’s the sound of painful longing. Then Kensrue draws the listener right back in with the gorgeous, romantic chorus, in which he imagines meeting a long-lost lover on the coast.

“My eyes are open, and everything still moves in slow motion,” he sings.

“Atlantic” proved that Thrice could compose music with appeal beyond the mosh pit, and it solidified Kensrue’s status as one of the most gifted lyricists in rock.

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