May 6th, 2024, Terraformer by Thank You Scientist (Album Review)

Thank You Scientist is a band I hadn't heard of prior to actually last night.

The way I discovered them is pretty strange due to it being in a BTiM review comment section, specifically the comment section of his Hail the Sun review where he bashes the entire swancore genre (maybe I'm being a bit harsh but that's what it seemed like). In that section, someone asked for swancore recommendations, and one of the notable ones was this band so I was like, "Hmmmm, that sounds pretty cool; let me look at their albums." Little did I know I was in for one of the BEST JAZZ FUSION PROG ROCK BANDS OF ALL TIME.

Obviously, this album doesn't have that many swancore qualities but it's the one I found myself listening to fully first so its the one I'm going to review first.

Enough yapping, lets get to the review

"Terraformer" is an interesting album—a VERY GOOD interesting album. There are three instrumental tracks, those being "Wrinkle," "Chromology," and "Shatner's Lament." Out of those three, "Chromology" is the longest, and I'd say probably the worst one, in my opinion. But I was never the biggest fan of long instrumental tracks. So I may be biased.

The songs I deem as perfect are "FXMLDR," "Anchor," and "Terraformer," each for three big reasons:

1. They all have pretty memorable choruses, which makes it easier for me to know which is which

2. They all have so much substance, even with their length. Anchor, especially the other 10-minute song on this album, "Everyday Ghosts," isn't perfect for me because I find myself bored while listening, Anchor doesn't have this problem; it kept me awake and interested.

3. They all showcase the vocalists abilities pretty well, in my opinion. but only slightly better than some others on the album, still enough for the vocals to be one of the key qualities for my enjoyment of the cuts individually (if that makes sense idk I hurt my own brain sometimes)

also I just really like the sax on this album it's really hypnotizing

Overall, this entire album is a huge W for Thank You Scientist and I hope they come out with something this year or in the later years. I will definitely be tuned in.

ya like jazz??