Artist: THRILLCHASER
Album: A Lot Like Love
Release Date: 02/16/2018
RIYL: The 1975, The Naked and Famous, Two Door Cinema Club
Rating: 7/10
A Lot Like Love is the debut album of THRILLCHASER, which was previously known as American Wolves before undergoing a shift of sound from heavy to poppy. THRILLCASHER accurately describes themselves as an alternative rock pop band. A Lot Like Love is interesting because between the songs there are shifts—one may have more of a medium rock pop sound with a synth-y backdrop, while the next song sounds slightly more like the melodic vocals of bands like Issues. As a whole, A Lot Like Love has a cool mixture of different sounds, and the sounds of “Emptiness,” “Like That,” and “Juliet” are definitely ones to lend your ears to.
The album opens up with the track, “Emptiness” which immediately calls your attention through quick, repeated staccato woodblock accents. “Emptiness” has an almost Fall Out Boy kind of sound. Even the lyrics of the chorus, “I feel invincible/because every move that you make is so predictable,” mimics that slightly aggressive, broken-hearted style of Patrick Stump. With that being said, “Emptiness” is definitely on the harder side of rock pop. Similarly, “Like That” has heavy hearted sentiments, but somewhat softer music. The whole song revolves around being loved and then being left, as in the lyrics “why’d you have to love me like that…and leave me like that?” Lastly, the album concludes with “Juliet,” which is a pop song that reflects on being “just kids in love” with “nothing to regret” during that one perfect summer when “life was better.” “Juliet” has a catchy upbeat sound and, frankly, has the most appropriate name to end an album about unrequited love.
As much as A lot Like Love has different sounds, it also has the same underlying staccato woodblock or rim-click licks in a few of the songs, which is part of the reasoning behind the 7/10 rating. Overall, THRILLCHASER does a good job of crossing and blending genre boundaries in A Lot Like Love, which is why it may not just be appealing to those who specifically like alternative rock pop. A Lot Like Love is a pretty sweet album— in a different sense than what it’s name suggests!
