3 out of 5

Label: Rock Action Records

Produced by: Jeroen Melchers, James Ogilvie, Westminster Brown (recorded by)

Streamlined Chimp.

Early Chimp: loud as hell, covering up for slimmer songwriting chops. Later Chimp: loud as hell, in support of solid songwriting on its own terms – volume aside. It follows that there needed to be a transition point, and that was Thriller, when the group dialed back ever so slightly on intensity to find a bit more nuance, leading to slower-burn approaches, and willingness to kind of let the silly sit alongside generally more weighty vibe. Not that PC are ever serious, pe se, but I think Thriller was the band being okay with not having to treat this music thing as a kind of so-what lark in their tone, represented both in the song titles being a bit more meta and the compositions ditching up front riffs to drill down on a feeling.

On the immediate positive side, you do recognize this as a band with staying power. The willingness to not wholly rely on their selling point as a loud-ass band, but also clearly not ditching that for Elephant 6 whimsy or anything, tells that tale, but even if you’re a new listener, Thriller lacks shtick in a – winky – thrilling way: you get the kind of throwback stoner rock that was popular in the late 00s but without the production / vocal play-acting that can come along with that, amped up with PC’s inherent chaoticness, making for fun blend of loose, slowburn noise rock.

…On the lesser side is everything I’m kind of indirectly saying: this is PC holding back a bit while they figure out how much they can unleash their humor and love for volume without it becoming that shtick, and that shtick forever defining them. That restraint prevents Thriller from nailing any standout singles, or producing a sound that has the raucous power of early Chimp or the enduring strength of later Chimp.

A necessary transition point, but a transition nonetheless.