Thrifty Astronaut’s newest album, Caffeine Heartache, draws us into the memories of love lost with tinny voice samples wrapped tightly inside raw electro/blues backgrounds. Nick Jones (a.k.a. Thrifty Astronaut) takes the lo-fi Indie-blues feel to expanded heights with noteworthy influences of Radiohead and The Black Keys.
The pace of the album builds with songs like “Pretty Girl With Lip Rings.” “Cottonmouth,” clearly the album’s heaviest song, layers guitar riffs over a solid drum machine beat. A wildly distorted guitar is featured in the next song, “The Boys Who Huff Glue;” its slow, melancholic waltz rhythm sustains the broken-hearted tone.
After “The Lonelies,” however, the album falls into folly. Earlier songs captivate us with poetic lyrics and a rhythmic flow of the guitar/synthesizer combo, but this characteristic pattern soon fizzles into repetitive chords and tiresome choruses.
“Another California Song” features a strum pattern reminiscent of the Beach Boys, and TA’s adolescent love lyrics leave us with the feeling that “I’ve heard this all before.”
The Beatle-influenced song “Percocet Shuffle” transports us into Ringo’s worst acid trip. Featuring flavors of “Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds,” the track lacks originality, leaving us with a sour imitation.
The album’s charming, light-hearted lyrics make us voyeurs of TA’s long love life. Caffeine Heartache binds you in love, but at times it’s a bit too much to handle. Although we all can appreciate his appeal, TA can only carry us so far with his message of love. Perhaps it’s time for this artist to test new waters.
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