Rock and Roll Rewired: Meet The Thing

New York is always reinventing itself, and right now, it’s doing it through The Thing, the four-piece rock collective rewriting the rulebook. After months of teasing with A/B-side drops, today marks the official release of their fully analogue, self-titled third album: The Thing.

And they mean it when they say this is rock and roll. This is the garage-born, psych-tinged, sweaty, screaming-in-a-small-venue kind of rock. “We've kind of adapted the ethos of: with restriction comes creativity — old becomes new,” says guitarist/vocalist Jack Bradley. “And throughout every part of the process that remains true.”

If you’re asking, “What is The Thing?” don’t worry, the band has been asking that too. “It showcases all of us, all of our different personalities,” says bassist/vocalist Zane Acord. “In The Thing, we’re a collective band. We hang our hats on being a true band, where we all have the spotlight. I think that gives us a different edge.”

That edge comes from their DIY roots. Acord and guitarist/vocalist Michael Carter met in middle school, bonded over Led Zeppelin and The Beatles, and eventually roped in producer-in-training Bradley during high school. Add jazz drummer Lucas Ebeling to the mix when the crew reconnected in NYC, and The Thing — capital T — was born.

Their first two albums (Here’s the Thing and The Thing Is) were recorded live in bedrooms and poolhouses. Between them, the band clocked in over 300 shows across the U.S., U.K., and Europe, and now, they’ve arrived with their “strongest foot forward,” as Bradley puts it. “When you go back and look at classic albums, most bands, especially in the ‘60s and ‘70s, have a self-titled album, and it's usually the coolest and the strongest.”

And we're glad they have decided to self-title the album, because this might just be it. The Thing opens with a punch. “Above Snakes” is all boots-stomping, bar-fight energy, a rebellious anthem about breaking out of the “make money, pay rent” loop. “This song alludes to the fire we have and how we put everything into this project — trying to break The Man’s cycle,” says Acord.

Tracks like “Dave’s TV” and “Family Business” are full of character — catchy, chaotic, and kind of cinematic. The latter pulls from The Royal Tenenbaums’ brand of beautiful dysfunction. “I painted a picture of a dysfunctional family — but one you’re still attached to and need. The family biz,” Carter says.

Photo by Seana Adame

And don’t let the name fool you, “The Waltz” is as devastating as it is dreamy. “I wrote it about a toxic relationship: even though it's bad for you, you love it,” says Acord. Meanwhile, “Alive (The Sword)” sails in with full warrior energy. “It’s about having patience and becoming the person that you know you should be,” Bradley explains. “There's no need to jump the gun, which is something that I struggle with.”

From start to finish, The Thing plays like a greatest-hits album of a band that’s somehow still on the rise. “Holy Water” builds like a prayer and breaks like a wave. “Something to Say” speaks for itself. “Insane” lives up to its name — partially because the tape machine was literally breaking down while they recorded it. Then there’s “Malört,” their ode to being “really, really f’d up” (inspired by the notoriously brutal Chicago liquor), followed by the closer, “Irresistible”, a fever dream send-off that encapsulates both the album and the city they call home. “Everyone in New York is beautiful and this place is really insane,” Acord says. “It’s easy to become enchanted — lost.”

“That was the perfect end to the album,” adds Bradley. “It starts off rocking and ends the same way. We threw all of our different influences throughout — all the decades of rock and roll and adjacent genres — and ended up with something of our own. Our contribution to the genre. Our style. Our… thing.”

The Thing prove that rock and roll’s not dead. It’s just back in the basement, where it belongs.

Listen to "The Thing":

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