THIRD OF NEVER -- DAMAGE THE PEARL REVIEW

BY: Philip Sayblack

​In just a little more than a week, independent rock act Third of Never will release its latest studio recording in the form of its new album, Damage the Pearl.  Set for release Aug. 18 through 343 Records and Jam Records, the 12-song album is an interesting presentation that is worth hearing at least once.  It goes without saying that over the course of the album’s roughly 40-minute run time, it proves itself a work that will appeal to a targeted audience.  This is due in part to its featured musical arrangements.  The lyrical content that accompanies said musical material adds to that very directed appeal in its own right.  The record’s production puts the finishing touch to the whole’s presentation.  Each item noted is key in its own way to the whole of the recording.  All things considered they make Damage the Pearl an interesting addition to this year’s field of new independent records.
Damage the Pearl the forthcoming latest album from Third of Never, is an intriguing presentation that audiences will find worth hearing at least once.  That is due in part to its featured musical arrangements.  From the beginning to the end of the album, its arrangements, which generally clock in at around three and a half minutes (there are some that come in between two minutes, 30 seconds and two minutes, 45 seconds) tend to be largely the sort of material that one would expect to hear from a college radio station.  That is meant not as a negative but rather as a purely observational note.  There are some variances from that norm, however.  Case in point are the album’s closer, ‘Alone at the Fair’ and ‘Safety Pin.’  There is something about ‘Safety Pin,’ that makes it feel like it belongs on Nine Inch Nails’ 1999 album, The Fragile.  That is evidenced through the subtle use of the piano line and the brushes on the snare drums alongside the equally subdued vocal delivery.  Even as the mandolin is introduced, that root element is still there, making for so much interest.    ‘Alone at the Fair’ meanwhile delivers a very distinct contemplative vibe through its minimalist approach.  They are not the only standout compositions featured herein.  ‘Grab The Ground,’ which opens the record, can actually be compared, to a point, to works from the likes of Foo Fighters. While ‘Rolling Down a Hill,’ its immediate follow-up conjures thoughts of alt rock from the 1990s a la Dinosaur Jr.  There are other notable additions to the album, musically speaking.  Overall however, the arrangements collectively will find the majority of its appeal among fans of the independent music scene more so than those of the mainstream.  Again, this is meant primarily as an objective note.
The lyrical content that accompanies the album’s musical arrangements makes for just as much intrigue as said musical material.  That is because of its heavy use of metaphorical language from one song to the next.  The result is that each item leaves plenty of room for interpretation.  That is in fact a good thing.  That is because of the discussion that it is sure to generate.  Case in point of all of this is ’20 Million Miles,’ which comes in the record’s first half.  Stated here is, “20 million miles away/20 million miles to go until I can sit and stay/20 million miles to go/20 million miles of space/That just seems to get in the way/Laying on a bed of stones/Binging on a box of Doans/And then a tube of tea and scones/Rendered by my clone/Remember, remember/Boulders on butterflies/Crushing everything that beauty hides.”  One can interpret here, a message of not necessarily a physical journey but rather this being metaphorical language about feeling worn down by life’s journey in general.  On a side note for those who might not know, Doans is a pain killer that is used mainly to address back pain.  So again herein is what seems like a story of someone who has come a long way with a long way to still go.  Ion this case the story is of a physical journey but could just as easily be considered a starting point for a discussion on life’s trials and tribulations.  That is of course just this critic’s own interpretation; an example of the noted way in which the album’s lyrical content makes for its own share of interest.
The album’s title track is another example of the role of the record’s lyrical content.  In this case, the lyrics state, “What can you do about it/Not a thing/A shadow loses itself in the sun/Across the green/Nothing to fear out here/Across the way/What strikes the oyster doesn’t damage the pearl/Remain cheerful despite your painful brain/Empty barrels can drown your coursing pain/Nothing to fear our here/Across the way/What strikes the oyster doesn’t damage the pearl.” The line in the chorus that “what strikes the oyster doesn’t damage the pearl” alongside the seeming reminder to “Remain cheerful despite your painful brain” comes across as a reminder of sorts about one’s inner vulnerability of sorts and the role that the outer does in protecting that vulnerability.  That early note that there is “nothing to fear out here/Across the way” in it all plays even more into that seeming message. This is, again, just this critic’s interpretation.  If in fact it is the case, then it is a unique way for such a familiar message to be delivered, further showing the role of the album’s lyrical content to its overall presentation.
One more example of how the album’s lyrics play their own integral role in the record comes in ‘Flare Pt. II.’  The song’s chorus is central here as it states, “You’ll never find yourself/No way to find yourself/Hiding out inside your head.”  This as the song’s lead verse states, “Strung out on a lifeline/Tangled in the wires/You tried to hide the lightning/While it was starting all the fires.”  That note of trying to “hide the lightning/While it was starting all the fires” comes across as metaphor (once again, there is that note) of trying to cover the negatives in life while those negatives are causing so much damage instead of facing them.  Trying to hide those negatives seems to equate here to hiding in one’s mind amid them all.  Once more, this leaves plenty of room for interpretation.  The interpretation here is just that of this critic once more.  If in fact said interpretation is right then it proves quite the unique way (again) to broach such a familiar topic.  Keeping that in mind, it is clearly one more example of why the lyrical content that accompanies this album’s musical arrangements is just as important as that material.  When this seeming theme and the others examined herein are considered alongside the res of the album’s lyrical content, the whole works with the record’s musical material to make that whole presentation worth hearing at least once.
Rounding out the most important of Damage the Pearl’s elements is its production.  Throughout the course of its 40-minute run time, the record’s production adds that aesthetic appeal to the presentation.  Thanks to the production, the right level of balance is brought to the instrumentation and vocals in each song.  The impact thereof is that listeners will feel the full emotional effect of each song.  When that positive is noted alongside the interest generated through the record’s primary (musical) and secondary (lyrical) content, the whole therein makes Damage the Pearl a record that is a welcome addition to this year’s field of new independent albums.
Damage the Pearl, the latest studio recording from Third of Never, is an intriguing presentation that proves itself worth hearing at least once.  That is proven in part through its musical arrangements, which largely exhibit an approach and sound that is more akin to music on college radio stations than mainstream outlets.  That is not necessarily a bad thing, either.  It just means it will find appeal among a targeted audience.  The lyrical content that accompanies the album’s musical material makes for its own interest.  This due to the way in which it is delivered.  It leaves plenty of room for interpretation, which in turn is sure to make for plenty of discussion among audiences.  The record’s production puts the finishing touch to the whole, ensuring a positive aesthetic appeal.  Each item noted is important in its own way to the whole of the album.  All things considered they make Damage the Pearl a record that independent music fans will find worth hearing at least once.
Damage the Pearl is scheduled for release Aug. 18 through 343 Records and Jam Records.  A record release show is planned for Aug. 23 at the Pour House in Raleigh, NC.  More information on that concert and the band’s new album is available at:
Website: https://thirdofnever.com
Facebook: https://facebook.com/thirdofneverband