Horizons / West [CD]

Horizons/West (2025) completes the thematic arc begun with Horizons/East (2021), pairing personal reflection with sweeping sonic ambition. Self-produced by the band, engineered by guitarist Teppei Teranishi, mixed by Scott Evans, and mastered by Matthew J. Barnhart, Horizons/West balances cinematic tones with spacious atmosphere. Teranishi calls it "less dense," while vocalist Dustin Kensrue sees it as their first sequel-two halves of a larger emotional and political panorama. Blending post-rock textures from their earlier albums Beggars and Major/Minor, with rhythmic complexity from Horizons/East, the band sharpens it's edge without losing nuance. Kensrue's vocals shift from whisper to roar, anchoring meditations on perception, memory, and social influence. Horizons/West looks inward while never ignoring the larger world-urging listeners not to adopt beliefs, but to interrogate them. After more than two decades, Thrice continues building catharsis from chaos, and clarity from noise.