The Thirst – On The Brink

• 11th Jun 2008

Among the hordes of indie also-rans around at the moment there are also some good bands; the trick is being able to spot them. Hailing from Brixton, The Thirst combine the indie sensibility of bands like Bloc Party and Foals with the ska talents of The Specials.

Vocalist Mensah Cofie Agyeman possesses a raw energy all too often relinquished by his contemporaries, who value style over substance. Mensah is backed by brother Kwame on bass, and schoolfriends Mark Lennihan and Marcus Hariss on guitar and drums respectively, ensuring that The Thirst provide a unique end-product which is stylish, compact and eminently listenable.

Much of On The Brink, including recent single Sail Away and the magnificent Ready to Move, is reminiscent of Helicopter-era Bloc Party with the band’s frenetic pace and raw vocal energy. But these Londoners have many more strings to their bow. There are also elements of another London-based band in The Libertines, as the band brings together its disjointed elements and unites them with Mensah’s raw vocal.

Many of The Thirst’s other influences are plain to see, the ska of bands like The Specials with which they grew up shining through on All Mine, while Acre Lane is a beautifully summery tune evoking the poppier elements of The Jam and The Clash. With such a brilliant and diverse range of influences, it’s practically impossible not to be at least half-decent, but The Thirst take such influences and combine them with their natural talent to produce an album that is essentially flawless.

On The Brink is not only one of the best albums of the year so far, but I’ll go as far as saying it is one of the best debuts released this decade, more than holding its own against albums of the calibre of Up The Bracket and Silent Alarm.