While thats all too true John Doe, but unfortunatley the fact remains, people will still buy the records, look at Oasis??

Actually, The Ticket put the boot in about a year ago. Quality article. There are so many threads here about begrudgery against our own but that's just pants. Personally, I think The Thrills are a third rate Byrds/Pet Sounds clone. Some acts pay homage to this era whilst adding something new to it (Teenage Fanclub for instance) but unfortunately The Thrills just haven't got the tunes and their west coast name checking sounds like a chinged up student back from their J1 trying to be cool.

If your looking for quality west coast/country influenced summery rock type stuff that still pushes things foward Beachwood Sparks are yr men. 'Beechwood Sparks', 'Once we were trees', and 'Make the Robot Cowboy Cry' all essential.

Well I dont see any other Irish bands making it. Are there any other bands good enough to secure a major deal and bring their music to a level beyond Whelan's, TBMC and maybe a 'big gig' in the Olympia? The Frames, The Walls, David Kitt et al need not reply.

they have that sound that middle america likes - bland, inoffensive stuff with a slight quirkiness. unfortunately it just doesnt suit Ireland, a bit like RubyHorse in that respect... but its good they keep the yankee kiddies entertained. oh, think i will start another thread...

Neither does distributing your music independently and giving out about majors constantly.

true doesn't change the fact that the thrills are still s**t and that popularity shouldnt have any affect on whether you respect a band or not

i've discovered that bands like these should be ignored, they'll leave quietly when they realise your not weatching. just like a monkey.

I know that the Thrills aren't the best lyricists or musicians ever to grace the planet nor are they the most original but I can't help liking their music. Its feel good and catchy - I personnally wish them every success. They don't seem to take themselves very seriously and are genuinely shocked by the success they have had. Of course you all have your own personal opinions but I bet if they didn't have this amount of fame you wouldn't hate them as much. just more Irish band bashing!

Eric my man, the reason we bash them is so that they'll have some anxiety attacks and angst about their material, they therefore will be going through a tough creative process that leads them into near mental breakdown but results in some of the greatest pop music ever made. wait, has someone already done that too?...

Tom Dunne reckons they're the bees freakin knees anyway, well at least he said that when he'd two Thrills on the show last night. Reckons the backlash is just another sign of their success. Fair play to them i suppose, they've done well for themselves. Although judging by the lead singers accent, perhaps they've been in America too long.

thats if you can listen tom dunne without wanting to find him and shake him. good playlist handed to him by the relevant department at toady(!) fm though! ;]

Just to say, theres a backlash cos theyre sound and songs are weak compared to their peers (need i start name dropping? possibly. Will I? NO) from the ultra talented pool in Dublin at present. And no I dont just mean Glenn Hansard and the frames. There are no lines to read between. It is not a sign of anything. It just had to be written instead of spoken of in taxi ranks and burger bars and flats and apartments. the people had to know man. dude.

i'd like to hate the thrills - with their poncey clothes, their poncey mid atlantic accents, the singer's whinge, the dopey song titles and songs, the fact that they shouted 'we're the f**king thrills' while on stage a load of times the last time i saw them, their s**tty second album (i have it - its kinda crap, apart from a song called 'the irish keep gatecrashing') - but i just don't.

I don't like the thrills, but all musical preferences aside, how did they get to where they are now?? I never heard of them until they released their first single on a major label. Did they gig around Dublin at all before signing this record deal? Surely I didn't just totally miss out on an up and coming band a couple of years ago. But sometimes when the music is less than perfect the band make up for it in attitude etc. However, The thrills don't seem to have mastered anything close to a personality . I saw them being interviewed on TV recently and they had about as much charisma as a manic depressant on downers. Ultimately all I can do with the thrills is dismiss them as a non entity. I can't like them but I also can't hate them. It's like trying to hate Switzerland for christ sake

i wouldnt mind them if they just for one second didnt act like they hated everything about being Irish. They wont stop acting like preppie Americans instead of what they really are

I thought Santa Cruz was a great tune but wsa bored by exerything that they've done since then. Fair play to them, they're doing well, I'll just ignore them though.

The latest edition of Hotpress has two reviews of the new Thrills album. One reviewer gave it 4/10 while the contrasting other reviewer gave it 9/10. Check it out if this debate intrigues you.