Thus Love Vinyl, CD & Tape 2 Items

The Brattleboro, Vermont trioThus Lovestand together, a bond ce-mented by their experience as outsiders looking in. For Thus Love,DIY is an ethos that reflects not only their musical vision but their veryexistence as three self-identifying trans artists. From the band's incep-tion,Echo Mars (she/her),Lu Racine (he/him)andNathaniel van Osdol(they/them)have lived together under the same roof, designed andproduced their own merch, and created their own recording studiofrom scratch. "I realize that most artists don't live this way," says Mars."But for us, it was never really a choice. The art we make is so tied towho we are and the community we're a part of, that this is the onlyway we can possibly do it."The band was just starting to regularly headline renowned localvenue The Stone Church when everything came to a screeching halt.Rather than idly wait, the band decided to take their future in theirown hands. Armed with nothing but YouTube videos and her innatecuriosity, Mars constructed a makeshift studio in their apartment, re-cording during odd hours when their next-door neighbors were outand about.Looking back now, Mars is glad the band decided to forge ahead. "Iobviously would never want to go through a pandemic again, but I'mpretty confident in saying that this album would not be coming outin 2022 if we hadn't had the forced downtime." Their resulting debut,Memorial, is a stunningly accomplished album. The hallmarks will beunmistakable to anyone who has ever obsessed over classic LPs fromindie and post-punk's progenitors-everything from the chiming,Marr-esque guitars on opener "Repitioner" to the pugnacious rhyth-mic punch on lead single "In Tandem". But even more impressive andexciting is how Thus Love manage to tap into this celebrated lineageto find their own unique voice and tell their own story.Ultimately, despite the many difficulties and setbacks, the story ofThus Love andMemorialis one of triumph. Of seeking meaning instruggle. Of embracing community and love. Of finding joy in The Brattleboro, Vermont trioThus Lovestand together, a bond ce-mented by their experience as outsiders looking in. For Thus Love,DIY is an ethos that reflects not only their musical vision but their veryexistence as three self-identifying trans artists. From the band's incep-tion,Echo Mars (she/her),Lu Racine (he/him)andNathaniel van Osdol(they/them)have lived together under the same roof, designed andproduced their own merch, and created their own recording studiofrom scratch. "I realize that most artists don't live this way," says Mars."But for us, it was never really a choice. The art we make is so tied towho we are and the community we're a part of, that this is the onlyway we can possibly do it."The band was just starting to regularly headline renowned localvenue The Stone Church when everything came to a screeching halt.Rather than idly wait, the band decided to take their future in theirown hands. Armed with nothing but YouTube videos and her innatecuriosity, Mars constructed a makeshift studio in their apartment, re-cording during odd hours when their next-door neighbors were outand about.Looking back now, Mars is glad the band decided to forge ahead. "Iobviously would never want to go through a pandemic again, but I'mpretty confident in saying that this album would not be coming outin 2022 if we hadn't had the forced downtime." Their resulting debut,Memorial, is a stunningly accomplished album. The hallmarks will beunmistakable to anyone who has ever obsessed over classic LPs fromindie and post-punk's progenitors-everything from the chiming,Marr-esque guitars on opener "Repitioner" to the pugnacious rhyth-mic punch on lead single "In Tandem". But even more impressive andexciting is how Thus Love manage to tap into this celebrated lineageto find their own unique voice and tell their own story.Ultimately, despite the many difficulties and setbacks, the story ofThus Love andMemorialis one of triumph. Of seeking meaning instruggle. Of embracing community and love. Of finding joy in rebirth.rebirth.

In the age of streaming platforms and social media, stimulation is easy to come by. Real pleasure, however_the kind that feeds our soul rather than draining it_is in shockingly short supply. The second LP by Thus Love is full of that kind of nourishing euphoria. It swoons, shakes, and swaggers with a combination of grit and sensuality that's been hard to locate in music lately. It's called, fittingly, All Pleasure. The album came out of a period of dizzying growth and transformation for the group. When they began work on it, vocalist/guitarist Echo Mars and drummer Lu Racine were still reeling from the runaway success of their 2022 debut Memorial_a set of lush, elegant post-punk that brought praise from The Fader, the NME, and the Guardian_along with processing the departure of the founding bassist. With All Pleasure, the band re-formed with new bassist Ally Juleen and guitarist/keyboardist Shane Blank. The group convened in a barn in the woods that Mars had transformed into a recording studio, and kept one rule at the forefront: "If it's not joyful, don't do it." What emerged from that mission is a stunningly gorgeous album, full of big, arcing melodies and a range of kinky stylistic twists that will surprise listeners who know the group just for Memorial's chorus-drenched 80s-style psychedelia. "Birthday Song" gives grungy glam rock with a transcendent hook that underlines Echo's lyrical tribute to communal joy. "Get Stable" transmutes existential panic into sharp-angled punk pop. The anthemic title track is something like the album's mission statement, paying tribute to the power of joyful creation. Mixed by Matthew Hall and Rich Costey and mastered by Bob Weston, All Pleasure was recorded as live as possible, capturing the sheer infectious ecstasy that comes from sharing space together and making a divine racket. Put on All Pleasure, tap into the energy that Thus Love is putting out, and you just might find an escape.