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The Thirst - On The Brink (Absolute)
UK release date: 26 May 2008
4 stars
The Thirst - On The Brink

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track listing

1. They Don't Know
2. Ready To Move
3. Sail Away
4. My Everything
5. I'm Falling
6. Acre Lane
7. Watch Me Now
8. I Believe
9. All Mine
10. On The Brink
11. Don't Waste Your Time
The Thirst are one of London’s up and coming talents - they are many things all at once: vibrant, original and hugely (though by no means objectionably) commercial, and, as a result of this, The Thirst are destined for great things.

Consisting of brothers Mensah and Kwame Cofie-Ageyman, together with school friends Marcus Hariss and Mark Lennihan, their sound is an eclectic mix of punk rock, reggae and ska. After gigging throughout Brixton, they’ve built up a strong fan-base, and recently signed a record deal with Ronnie Wood’s record label.

Unlike countless album where a handful of good tracks are surrounded by mediocre filler, On The Brink is consistently of a strong and satisfyingly high quality. The highlights include Sail Away, a stunning song about typical urban life in London. It may highlight the ‘dark side’ of living in the city, yet also celebrates and accepts the home that they grew up in. The erratic drum beats and Cofie-Ageyman’s infectiously energetic voice give the track a really addictive edge.

My Everthing opens with Cofie-Ageyman’s mellow voice sat alongside gentle, melodic guitar riffs - lively, resonant and meaningful, as it was inspired by a documentary on HIV. Acre Lane makes for a more cheery singalong though, and there’s some furious acoustic fingerwork and explosive drumming on I Believe.

The last track on the album meanwhile, Don’t Waste Your Time, is a memorable mix of ska, dub and reggae, bringing to minds such legendary names as Bob Marley, The Specials and The Jam.

The real charm of The Thirst lies in their down to earth music, confronting real issues, surburban life, youth culture and London in general - on this album, they pay tribute to these roots. It’s a debut album which is confident and strong throughout. Just like their name, they will leave you craving more.

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ALBUM:
The Thirst - On The Brink

TRACK:
The Thirst - Sail Away

TRACK:
The Thirst - Ready To Move

EXTERNAL LINKS
The Thirst



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