The Things – Vicarious Catharsis

Today, I decided to introduce a relatively new group that defies classifications into a particular genre. Their music possesses everything you could imagine, but still, it sounds so compact and unique. The Things is a relatively new group that emanates from Rolling Hills Estates, United States. The quintet introduced themselves with Ball & Chain, a catchy single released back in 2019. After nearly two years of songwriting, assembling, recording, and producing, The Things are back with a brand new material, which serves as their debut full-length. This material demands your utmost attention and forces you to embrace all the elements with open hearts and minds.

Vicarious Catharsis carries a handful of sophisticated rock compositions flawlessly performed by the entire band. This particular material sounds like it time-traveled back from the seventies, mainly because of all of the elements the group decided to implement within these complex numbers. You’ll notice how The Things explore seventies hard rock sound but also experiment with several complementary music genres along the way. You may hear the minor or major interventions of psychedelic rock, progressive rock, southern rock, indie rock, indie pop, funk, soul, and blues. Perhaps you’ll think how this pile of genres may seem a bit too much, but The Things merged all these elements into a compact slab of ear-appealing tones.

Nevertheless, the band doesn’t stop there. The Things incorporate smaller chunks of seventies pop and contemporary alternative here and there, so their music sounds even more unique. Right with the initial beats of this record, you’ll realize these are experienced musicians who spent their time wisely working on these delicate tunes. Each composition is thoroughly planned, assembled, structured, arranged, so you won’t even notice the interventions of the beforementioned genres. Vicarious Catharsis appears as a comprehensive collection of brilliant ideas, exceptional musicianship, and flawless execution and remains in that manner from scratch to finish. The Things are getting progressive and psychedelic even more as you dig deeper into their debut. You’ll even discover more details after a couple of spinnings, so you can’t get enough of this material.

Also, you will have a rough time deciding which musician prefer the most because they all sound equally good. No matter if you’re into guitar duels, profoundly detailed basslines, exceptional drumming performance, or astounding high-pitched vocals, The Things will amaze you in every possible way. Vicarious Catharsis is available on Spotify, so go ahead and give it a couple of spins.