Despite being the most recent musical darlings to grace The O.C., The Thrills remain simple Irish boys with a lot of pride - and immediate resistance.

As one of Virgin Records' latest and most successful indie acquisitions, the band has struggled with both popularity and poise since the release of their debut, So Much For The City, and through this past fall's release of their second, Let's Bottle Bohemia.

Unfortunately, a major part of being a major label favorite is suffering through interviews and reviews and criticisms and comparisons. Like most bands, The Thrills aren't so thrilled with that aspect.

Having been lauded as the next Beach Boys when they surfaced on American radio two years ago, guitarist Daniel Ryan balks, "I honestly can't see how we sound like the Beach Boys, none of our songs do." Then clarifies, "I'm not going to deny that they are an influence, we love them, they are an incredible band, but I think journalists get lazy, they see our song titles and hear we lived on the West Coast for some time and then they make the comparison." But later, in response to another question, he relaxes, saying "We may have had a slight West Coast sound on our first album, but certainly not on our new record."

When questioned about the differences in the two albums, Ryan's answers reveal little about what makes the band tick, focusing more on his prepared defense of why they tick the way they do.

"I felt our first album is a great representation of where we were at that time as a band. We were very happy with all the songs; none of them were songs we had been playing for too long. We felt that all the songs were really strong, and that it was a very solid debut album."

"There will always be pressure for us from ourselves when making a record, but we tend to block out any outside distractions when making and preparing for an album. There are far too many factors that have the potential to get in the way. We will always make the album we want to make, and when that is done then we will do what we can to promote it."

"Our first record didn't exactly take the US by storm, so we weren't worried about our second record, we were ready to record it, and felt we had made the progression we wanted to make…both in the music and the lyrics."

But when asked whether the lyrics are inseparable from the music, Ryan simply says: "I don't think whether or not the music would be as effective with other lyrics, because I don't ever imagine there being other lyrics."

Ryan's thoughts surrounding other bands, however, are a bit more constructive. "Pulp were a band around long before Britpop," he says, "and they were labeled along with every other band of that era. Unfortunately, that is where they were left behind, which is a shame, because their latter albums were incredible."

This thought that this may be their one and only hey-day is one that seems to plague The Thrills. Although many bands would be pleased with the relative success of their two major label releases and an appearance or two on the most popular weekly teenage drama in America, Ryan says, "I don't think we consider ourselves a successful band just yet, we've only released two albums, and we would hope that there are a lot more to come down the line."

But The Thrills also vehemently defend their right to all this newfound West Coast glory. "We have paid our dues," claims Ryan. "Myself and Conor [Deasy] grew up together and put this band together when we were 15, we have worked hard for this, and it's only the start."

Maybe the band's modesty has more to do with what happens back home than what happens Stateside. For despite their American success story, the band returns to normalcy as soon as they step off the plane onto their own soil. " We are a big band in Ireland," admits Ryan. "But we're lucky that people never recognize us."

October 2004

A. Koledin