Bohemian Rhapsody

After their outstanding debut, "So Much For The City," popular thought was that the Thrills had to be more than a little concerned about making a worthwhile follow-up record. How would "Let's Bottle Bohemia" fare?

Folks, the Thrills are Irish. They are far more concerned with their soccer team, the Keane brothers, drinking and that little war they've been having. What they are most concerned with, apparently, is making better music than everyone else in Europe-except Iceland. Fear Iceland.

"So Much For The City" was a very Beach Boys-esque, lush ride through alt-country music guided along by vocalist/songwriter Conor Deasy's smooth, innocent voice. The album was so jam packed with hot rock that it caused the most volcanic debris in Western New York since the Paleozoic era. No joke.

"Let's Bottle Bohemia" is just as good. It's not too much of a departure from their debut - similar instrument and vocal patterns complement the always peppy, Brian Wilson style musical foundation - but it certainly shows some growth in taste.

For one, the Thrills moved from blatant Beach Boys influence to blatant Beach Boys influence with overt nods to the Beatles. Both "Not For All The Love in The World" and "Our Wasted Lives" are great examples of indie rock using "Rubber Soul"-era Fab Five to its advantage.

The other main difference is that the Thrills got a lot more raucous on "Let's Bottle Bohemia." Electric guitars even make their move towards distortion on a few songs and Deasy's voice - whether it's a result of road-weariness or not - has a rough edge in places that "So Much For The City" would have never dared put its soft hands.

The Thrills still have unique lyrics and impeccable songwriting in their hands; they've just added a couple aces to the deck by expanding their repertoire. As they displayed in fine fashion at this year's Hybrid Festival in Clarence, the Thrills aren't going anywhere without a nod toward the past and some crooning towards the future.