From the sardine-jammed, New Jersey basement-show days, to major-label breakthroughs, to the their recent surprise "Application for Release of the Dream" comeback single, Thursday's distinct, emo-damaged post-hardcore has been thrilling folks for more than a quarter century.
Of course, the rise and fall and reemergence of Thursday is forever linked to the blur of heart-swelling hardcore melodies supporting frontman Geoff Rickly's uniquely warbling, poetically-lilted, and sometimes especially Garden State-linked vocals.
So, with the new Revolver cover stars having made their grand return, and with the promise of new music to come, we asked our readers to pick Thursday's greatest song thus far. Check out the top five vote-getters below.
5. "Tomorrow I'll Be You"
In a mid-'00s interview, Rickly explained that he saw War All the Time deep cut "Tomorrow I'll Be You" as a sequel of sorts to an earlier EP oddity called "Jet Black New Year" (more on that one later), but also as a rebirth anthem "about being free of everything that keeps you from being yourself."
It plays out as a reflective, but volume-surged and hard-screamed emo tune where a kid symbolically cuts clumps of jet black hair off his skull on a crisp New Year's Day, while trying to rediscover his essence. Aesthetically, it hits the core feel of a classic Thursday song.
4. "Cross Out the Eyes"
2001's Full Collapse was a major turning point for Thursday, introducing longtime guitarist Steve Pedulla to the fold and strengthening the emotional pull of debut release Waiting.
On the strength of songs like "Cross Out the Eyes" — a melancholy distillation of stadium-ready guitar spaciousness, Rickly's yearning cries, and extra screams from the Assistant's Tom Schlatter — Thursday's sophomore album pushed the band out of the East Coast underground and towards the frontlines of an early aughts emo-hardcore explosion.
3. "War All the Time"
The passionate anchor to Thursday's 2003 major-label debut of the same name — perhaps even the band's career, writ large — "War All the Time" is a slow-rolling emotional H-bomb, an underdog statement for New Jersey kids like them that forged their worldview while growing up screaming their hearts out at local hardcore shows, yet felt like they were forever living "in the shadow of the New York skyline."
It's a quaint thought, considering Thursday's globe-spanning legacy, though clearly the fight never gave out in them.
2. "Jet Black New Year"
2002's Five Stories Falling EP is a bit of a curio, generally comprising live versions of Full Collapse songs that were recorded at the Warped Tour. Not bad, but not essential, either.
On the other hand, they also slapped an exclusive tune called "Jet Black New Year" at the end of the release, and it almost instantly became a fan favorite. Credit goes to the extra metal-edged guitar chugging and its dark, maroon-sparkled melodicism. But there's also something extra special about hearing Rickly and My Chemical Romance's Gerard Way — longtime Jersey pals — going toe-to-toe with each other on an effects-blaring, all-screamed mid-section.
1. "Understanding in a Car Crash"
No surprises here, but Thursday thrust fans straight through the wreckage of Full Collapse's signature, heart-tugging hit nearly 25 years ago, and it's been stuck on us all ever since.
The guitar tones are more chorus-pedal-jangled that distortion-blasted, but the song still rings heavy through Rickly's sinewy detailing of a bad accident. The spinning hubcaps set the tempo, you could say, but Thursday took the lead from there, cementing "Understanding in a Car Crash" — not to mention the group — as a perma-fixture of the post-hardcore landscape.
