Though they recorded their third album in an industrial area in Vancouver (as opposed to the sunny California they???ve been obsessed with since they started out), The Thrills--fans will be pleased to know--have not lost their inherently sunny dispositions. Produced by Tony Hoffer (who helmed their debut), this latest outing sees the band engage with that most American of themes ??? yep, the teenager. The quartet???s trademark vocal harmonies, recognisable instrumentation and light, catchy melodies are rolled out in fine style on opening track "The Midnight Choir," continuing apace on tunes like the jaunty "This Year", the solid "Nothing Changes 'Round Here" and the jangling "Restaurant". Infused with the air of nostalgia that the title suggests, there???s also some welcome edginess. The band keep to their formula of short, 3 1/2 minute songs too--a good idea given the grating potential of Conor Deasy???s croaky vocals, which can sometimes stretch the listener to breaking point. Teenager is occasionally bogged down by a tendency to slip into samey territory, but the slow-burn allure of songs like the title track and "Should Have Know Better" make this something of a return to form for Dublin???s most American band. --Paul Sullivan

...and I made a mistake. First album is one of my favourites of the decade. It just captures this mood all of the way through it and displays excellant musicianship and an authentic sound that's so rarely heard these days. The second album i thought was a good and strong follow up to the debut, although there were a few critical reviews, but all in all i felt it was a solid album. My only criticism of it was that it didn't capture a mood quite like it's predecessor, but then again there was a certain magic about that first record. Then this album, the third album was released it seems without anybody knowing. The fact i caught them live by mistake at the Knowsley Music festival, showcasing new songs was the only reason i knew about Teenager's release. The performance was good considering they was away for such a long time, but I had seen them perform alot better previously and none of the songs really stood out. So this along with bad promotion and marketing, coupled on it's release with some bad critical reviews, must have been a factor in me overlooking this record at the time.
But then, as you do, you go through your record collection and come across the first two releases and fancy putting them on. Then next minute you know your playing it for the fifth time that day. So i came on here as i remembered i didn't have Teenager in the collection and now i'm currently on the eleventh track, which ends the album, wondering why i didn't get it sooner. A previous review on here said that there aren't many stand out tracks on here, but that they are all strong and as good as each other and I agree with that. It's a fair point because one thing this albums got is consistency and like it's predecessor it's once again solid. Another reviewer said that they have lost their california/west coast sound, then implying that this made their sound false which i think isn't a fair reflection on the qualities this band have. For a start they are only influenced by the californian sound and another thing is they aren't californian, they're Irish. They just so happen to want that influence and those west coast properties in their sound and they pulled it off magnificently on So Much For The City, they can't be expected to keep that up all the time.

This album obviously isn't as brilliant as So Much For The City, but it is definitely as good as Let's Bottle Bohemia and if you like The Thrills then there's no danger in paying the low price Amazon are selling it for, especially as i seen it recently in a HMV store for ??17.

Talented Band

I liked The Thrills from the early stages when they releases their first album. I liked as much their next album Bohemia, so wondered if this album would match their earlier work, and i expected it would, and it did!

The Thrills are in danger of going into oblivion! They were dropped by EMI, but are now with Virgin i believe. A good move!

You can't force people to buy music, and not everyone will buy these albums, but...there is an absolute market that will, a big market. It just needs to be marketed correctly.

This album is astounding to listen to. Quality stuff. Would highly recommend.

Buy this album!

Whilst I'm not a die hard fan of The Thrills, they're certainly up there with my favourite bands. Before I bought the third offering from The Thrills, I was a tad dubious as I hadn't heard any of the tracks from it. I own the first 2 albums and both were excellent, with Let's Bottle Bohemia as my favourite. But I found my self doubting whether this album would live up to that.

When I first listened to the album I was surprised by how good the opening track (The Midnight Choir) was and it's probably one of my favourite's of the whole album. From here things only get better. Whilst the subsequent tracks aren't as BIG (which is the only way I can think of to describe it) as The Midnight Choir, they certainly make an impression. It took me a few listens to the album to get into it and eventually spent time listening to it on the iPod so I could concentrate on the music and nothing else.

Practically every song on this album stands up on it's own and there are many that could be released as singles. Some of my favourites are: The Midnight Choir, Nothing Changes Around Here, Long Forgotten Song, No More Empty Words and There's Joy To Be Found. That's not to say that the other tracks aren't as good, because I can listen to the whole album over and over without skipping any songs, such is the strength of this album.

If you're a fan of the Thrills then I can definitely recommend this album, if your not a huge fan or are considering buying it and you haven't heard anything by the band then I would recommend checking out the first 2 albums first. In my opinion each album by the band is different and has it's own sound. The first album was hugely successful and there were a great many high quality songs on there such as Big Sur, Santa Cruz, Don't Steal Our Sun and One Horse Town to name but a few. With the release of the second album the band lost something according to the critics. I actually preferred the second album to the first album and found each song to be quite strong and worthy of a decent album. Most of the songs were generally upbeat, so I'm surprised the album didn't do as well. I can see why the second album probably didn't do as well, it didn't feature those unique upbeat sunny songs that the band managed to record for the first album.

The third album, Teenager, is kind of a mixture of the first two albums, whilst being different altogether. The songs are generally strong and upbeat, but feature that kind of melancholy sound which tends to run through Let's Bottle Bohemia. I actually prefer Teenager slightly more than Let's Bottle Bohemia at the moment, but I think I'm going to revisit the first 2 albums as I haven't played them for a short period and then decide.

Also, with this version of the album you get a DVD entitled The End of Innocence, which is basically the story of The Thrills from their first album right up until the release of this third album. Whilst I never normally buy CD + DVD albums, usually down to cost and the fact that the DVD's are usually below par, I was surprised by how good this one was. Previously I hadn't really known much about the band, so it was interesting to know how they started, how successful they had become in such a short space of time and watching them tour the world. It was watching the DVD that prompted me to write this review.

Overall, the album would probably be 4 stars for me if I was reviewing it on it's own. Whilst it's very good and each song is great, I think it needs a couple of really good stand out tracks, the sort that you can switch on the radio and hear them playing all Summer long (such was the case with the first album). Still a worthy addition to my CD collection and highly recommended for any Thrills fans. With the DVD thrown in as an extra, it gains an extra star. The DVD is great and shows the band as they are, their story and their music. 5 Stars!

I'm 16 and have loved the thrills since I was 14, I was a bit apprehensive about this one when I first got it but this is easily the 2nd best album ( I mean it's not quite Santa Cruz is it? ) Anyway it's pure and proper teen music, if you don't have decent speakers/headphones then you won't fully appreciate this album! If you want something to play at a house party or when your mates come round then get this, it's a good talking point too as a surprising amount of people haven't heard of the thrills!!

Pretty decent album in fairness. Takes a few listens to get true value from the melodies and hooks - much better than their second offering in my opinion. I bought this around about the same time I bought Sundrive's 'Still Here' and although both band's are similar (sun-drenched Californian sound from Dublin) I found Sundrive's offering a little better and would point any potential buyer to take a chance in that direction and discover something new at the same time. Having said that, I do like this album - if you buy it be prepared to give it a chance by listening to it a couple of times before judging it.