| Fighting Season | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | September 21, 2018 | |||
| Recorded | Late 2017 to early 2018 | |||
| Studio | Kimchee Records, Cambridge, MA | |||
| Genre | Alternative rock, Blues rock, Indie rock | |||
| Length | 38:34 | |||
| Label | Thrill Jockey | |||
| Producer | Andy Hong | |||
| Thalia Zedek chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Ox-Fanzine |    [1] |
| musicOMH | [2] |
| Allmusic | [3] |
| Spectrum Culture | Positive [4] |
| Dusted Magazine | Positive [5] |
| Mojo | [6] |
Fighting Season is Thalia Zedek's seventh solo album, released two years after Eve .
Released by Thrill Jockey on September 21, 2018, two years after her previous solo album Eve , Fighting Season was recorded in late 2017 to early 2018 at Kimchee Studios, in Cambridge, MA. Zedek's fourth solo album to be credited to the Thalia Zedek Band, Fighting Season was engineered and mixed by producer Andy Hong, who co-owns Kimchee Studios, and mastered by Sarah Register.
The material in Fighting Season "was written leading up to and following the 2016 U.S. elections," which contributed to the political themes of many of its songs. [7] [8] The writing process was vastly different from that of Zedek's previous solo albums, as she "took a more isolated approach [...] writing the material on her own and only presenting the songs to the full ensemble shortly before recording." [9] Furthermore, Zedek made the conscious decision to "make sure that not everybody in the band is playing on every song," so as to allow the record to "have some space." [10]
The line-up of the Thalia Zedek Band remained unchanged from Eve to Fighting Season.
Two longtime friends of Zedek's are featured as "Special Guests" on the record. Chris Brokaw—Zedek's frequent collaborator and former Come guitarist and bandmate— contributed guitar to the first two tracks on the record, specifically, "Bend Again" and "What I Wanted". Dinosaur Jr.'s vocalist and guitarist J Mascis, meanwhile, contributed the guitar solo for "Bend Again", the album's opening song. This marks the second time Mascis and Zedek have collaborated on a studio record, and the first since Zedek provided vocals to three songs in Dinosaur Jr.'s 1994 album Without a Sound , namely, "Yeah Right", "Grab It", and "Get Out of This". "Bend Again" "had been written with Mascis's solo in mind." [11] As Zedek herself put it, "[w]hen I wrote the song, I could hear J's guitar playing in it. [...] In the studio, I tried to do my best rough, inept version of a J Mascis solo. But it didn't work, so I decided to just ask him." [12] As it turned out, Mascis was recording Elastic Days at his home studio in Amherst, Massachusetts. "He just said, 'Send me the track. I'll do it.' It was what the song needed." [13] Meanwhile, Brokaw's contributions were the result of coincidence, as Brokaw had also booked recording time at Kinchee Studios for his 2019 album End of the Night, soon after his return to Boston. [14] Thalia Zedek Band members Jonah Sacks and David Michael Curry both ended up contributing cello and viola, respectively, to End of the Night. [15]
The title of the album comes from "a term originally coined for the period of time in Afghanistan when winter comes to an end and fighting in the region would resume." [16] Zedek's reinterprets it as connecting it to the theme of "resistance, on a time to fight for oneself or to protest the deteriorating political landscape." [17] The title is meant to contain a dual reference to the public and the private, as it is "also a reference to personal relationships." [18] [19]
All songs and lyrics by Thalia Zedek.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Bend Again" | Thalia Zedek | 5:49 |
| 2. | "What I Wanted" | Thalia Zedek | 4:39 |
| 3. | "Fighting Season" | Thalia Zedek | 3:14 |
| 4. | "Of the Unknown" | Thalia Zedek | 4:15 |
| 5. | "Ladder" | Thalia Zedek | 4:45 |
| 6. | "War Not Won" | Thalia Zedek | 4:52 |
| 7. | "The Lines" | Thalia Zedek | 3:54 |
| 8. | "We Will Roll" | Thalia Zedek | 2:57 |
| 9. | "Tower" | Thalia Zedek | 4:09 |
On Metacritic, the album has a weighted average score of 82 out of 100, based on 5 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". [20] Mojo magazine's review of Fighting Season declared that "[i]t never feels as though [Zedek's] best work is behind her." [21] Bekki Bemrose's four-star review for musicOMH praised the album's production, claiming its "beautifully warm and naturalistic [aesthetic] brings these inherently intimate songs closer still." Furthermore, Bemrose saw similarities between the political nature of the album and the work of Woody Guthrie, going on to draw a parallel between Guthrie's famous This machine kills fascists guitar label and Zedek's FCK NZS guitar sticker on the cover of Fighting Season. Allmusic's review of the record, written by Mark Deming, characterised Fighting Season as "an album that always reflects the era that informed it, and while Thalia Zedek never pretends to have all the answers, her musings are brave, literate, and full of heart, and this is an important statement from an important artist." [22] Justin Cober-Lake, writing for Spectrum Culture, praised the album, stating that "guitar fills much of the disc with open, controlled lines that remain shadowy despite the spaces." [23] In her review for Dusted Magazine, Jennifer Kelly, asserts that "[t]here's something grand and strong and provocative about the march of her songs, yet also a nod to entropy and futility in the way they fall apart." [24]
Dinosaur Jr. is an American rock band formed in Amherst, Massachusetts, in 1984. Originally called Dinosaur, the band was forced to change their name due to legal issues.
Joseph Donald Mascis Jr., better known as J Mascis, is an American musician who is the singer, guitarist and main songwriter for the alternative rock band Dinosaur Jr. He has also released several albums as a solo artist and played drums and guitar on other projects. He was ranked number 74 in a Rolling Stone list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists", and number 5 in a similar list for Spin magazine in 2012.
Come is an American alternative rock band, formed in Boston by Thalia Zedek, Chris Brokaw, Arthur Johnson (drums), and Sean O'Brien (bass).
Chris Brokaw is an American musician, best known for his work with the bands Come and Codeine.
Thalia Zedek is an American singer and guitarist. Active since the early 1980s, she has been a member of several notable alternative rock groups, including Live Skull and Uzi both of which, according to Spin magazine, "made big noise in the underground", and Come. Critic Heather Phares writes that Zedek's music can be defined by "the permanent, aching rasp in her voice, her guitar's bluesy bite, the startlingly clear-eyed lyrics about life and loss."
Live Skull is a post-punk/experimental rock band from New York City, formed in 1982.
Near-Life Experience is the third studio album by Boston alternative rock band Come, released in May 1996 on Matador Records in the US and on Domino Records in the UK.
Jonathan Jacob Walker is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. Formerly the bassist of Panic! at the Disco, Walker was also the lead guitarist and occasional split vocalist of The Young Veins, which is now on indefinite hiatus. Having gone on to release several solo recordings, he is now mostly songwriting and producing.
11:11 is the debut album by Boston indie rock band Come.
Don't Ask, Don't Tell is the second album by Boston indie rock band Come.
Gently, Down The Stream is the fourth and final album by Boston indie rock band Come.
Melting in the Dark is an album by the American musician Steve Wynn, released in 1996. It was recorded with a band consisting of all the members of Come. Wynn supported the album by touring with a backing band that included members of Gutterball, Zuzu's Petals, and Love Tractor.
Uzi was an American alternative rock band, formed in 1984 in Boston, Massachusetts and disbanded in 1987. The band featured Thalia Zedek, Danny Lee (drums), Randy Barnwell, Bob Young (guitar) and Phil Milstein. Never achieving commercial success during their short period of activity, the band gained a cult following, becoming a part of Boston's underground rock scene.
Act Surprised is the ninth studio album by American indie rock band Sebadoh. It is the band's first album in six years. The album was released on May 24, 2019.
Been Here and Gone is Thalia Zedek's debut solo album, following the demise of Come, her previous band.
Trust Not Those in Whom Without Some Touch of Madness is Thalia Zedek's third solo album, released under two months after Hell is in Hello.
Liars and Prayers is Thalia Zedek's fourth solo album, released four years after Trust Not Those in Whom Without Some Touch of Madness.
Via is Thalia Zedek's fifth solo album, released five years after Liars and Prayers.
Eve is Thalia Zedek's sixth solo album, released three years after Via.
Perfect Vision is the eighth solo album by Thalia Zedek, released on August 27, 2021, three years after Fighting Season.
