Album Review: Now, Now - Threads

Album Rating: B

"Find a thread to pull, and we can watch it unravel" sings Now, Now's vocalist, Cacie Dalager on the opening line of Threads intro track "The Pull". This line is the centerpiece of the album and is the main hook of the album centerpiece, "Thread".  Threads holds true to these words, as the sadness and hopelessness from this line is a prevailing theme throughout the record.

Threads sees Now, Now working on their first record as part of Chris Walla's Trans Records, and the band's direction reflects the perfect pairing that has come out of this partnership. Now, Now sounds more like early Death Cab For Cutie than ever, with melancholy and brutal honesty bursting through every track. "Prehistoric" could be a slightly more distorted version of Death Cab's "Title Track", both melodically and with the distressing emotional pull the track has over a listener.

While the album may feel a tad bit repetitive at times, mostly due to Dalager's fairly monotonous vocal technique, the strongest songs on the album are powerful standouts. "Oh. Hi." has been a staple in Now, Now sets for a while now, and the final recorded version may be one of Now, Now's best. "Separate Rooms" is where Dalager can utilize her vocals best, letting her ethereal voice draw out and flow between the instruments. The keys and electronics are an excellent touch in creating a perfect atmosphere for the band members to do their best work. "School Friends" has Dalager succeeding vocally in a different way from "Separate Rooms", as instead of letting the vocals become the atmosphere of the song, she uses them to give her lyrics even more and more power.

Threads is definitely a mood album, and not one that fits every mood and season. It's a colder album, with few brief periods of warmness and satisfaction. But, this perfectly flowing album mostly sticks to the sadness of relationships and life, something that most anyone can relate to.

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Track List:
1. The Pull
2. Prehistoric
3. Lucie, Too
4. Dead Oaks
5. Oh. Hi.
6. But I Do
7. Separate Rooms
8. Thread
9. Wolf
10. School Friends
11. Colony
12. Magnet