I’ll say it up front: Major/Minor is one of the best rock albums of the last five years. It’s not just a great Christian album, it’s a great album, period. 

It’s hard for rock bands to be inventive these days, when so much has been done before. But Thrice manage it by combining a sometimes abrasive, almost rusty sound with occasional bursts of melodic beauty. They balance their creativity and progressive leanings with songwriting nuance in a fantastic way. 

“Yellow Belly” is intense and emotive, “Anthology” uplifting and hopeful, and “Words In The Water” is an atmospheric masterpiece. That song in particular highlights one of the areas of real brilliance for Thrice: Dustin Kensrue’s lyrics. They’re openly about his faith but also so creatively handled. Almost hymn-like in places, like when he sings, “I felt white and black reverse / And the lifting of a curse from my heart / Then like one receiving sight / I beheld a brilliant light in the dark.” 

Major/Minor is an example of what faith-informed music can be when it combines talent, heart, and real thought.

Five out of five stars