As the Thermals continue wiggling their way from the stylistic confines of punk, they seem to be closing their mitts all the more firmly around its spiritual core. Now We Can See is a power pop record about vision, death, disease, perspective, and, er, turning into a fish (?) but its great expressive anchor is the elated desperation that gives punk both its wickedness and its promise.
Tom Whalen starts shedding his arms...