Localized Andy Thomas

There’s a certain sense of succumbing to the inevitable when a punk trades in his half-stack for an acoustic guitar and gets in touch with his feelings. Only Thunder drummer Andy Thomas approaches Blood And Sunshine—a folky, acoustic rock solo album—with his own workman-like attitude, and gets to stretch his legs toward a new place where rock dynamics aren’t the coin of the land. Well, in theory, anyway: Thomas’ songs still ride on the energy release found at the heart of good pop-punk tune. While this energy isn’t nearly as pronounced as when he’s behind the drum kit, the sweeping melodies and a solid backbeat continue to guide his hand as a solo artist.

Consequently, Sunshine’s acoustic feeling isn’t nearly the departure from Only Thunder’s thumping noise as it appears on its surface. Thomas doesn’t embrace the roots-rock influences so many punks turn to as they age, nor is this record a journey into the heart-on-sleeve fragility of folk. He instead puts on country-rock airs with “To My Health” and the breezy open-chord picking of “Things You’ll Never Know,” but for the most part, midtempo tunes like “Except Nebraska” and “Rattling Tags” dominate the acoustic sound with electric guitar leads. Sticking to the bread and butter of rock, Sunshine is an album closer to the Goo Goo Dolls’ mid-career makeover than a punk stumbling into country stereotypes.

Overall, Blood And Sunshine isn’t a bad record as much as it’s an utterly predictable one. Thomas goes the acoustic route, but never commits to the songwriting overhaul necessary to differentiate it from a rock album. A punk grows up and wants to branch out—it’s an all too familiar story. But to capture the listener’s attention and create a new musical identity, Thomas needs to give more than a mid-life crisis record. Grade: B-