The Thermals

Originally assembled in Portland at the start of 2002, the Thermals united Ben Barnett from Kind of Like Spitting, Jordan Hudson of the Operacycle, and Hutch Harris plus Kathy Foster, who had previously worked together in the twee/folk-pop duo Hutch & Kathy as well as the All Girl Summer Fun Band. Intended at first as a lighthearted diversion for the participants, the project quickly drew local listeners through its insistent melodies and punk-inspired urgency. Death Cab for Cutie's Ben Gibbard became an early champion and connected the band with Sub Pop, which signed them four months after formation. Sub Pop issued a single in January 2003 and followed it that spring with the full-length More Parts Per Million.

The Thermals' second album, Fuckin A, surfaced in mid-2004. During sessions for their third release, founding drummer Jordan Hudson departed. Harris and Foster completed the recordings themselves, handling every instrument, and the resulting The Body, the Blood, the Machine appeared in 2006. Caitlin Love joined on drums in time for a European tour that spring. Later that summer Lorin Coleman of the Portland indie rock act Virga came aboard on drums, while auxiliary guitarist Joel Burrows participated briefly. The quartet dissolved in 2008, once more reducing the lineup to Foster and Harris. After leaving Sub Pop, the band signed with Kill Rock Stars and released Now We Can See in April 2009, followed by Personal Life in 2010. In 2012 their cover of the Malvina Reynolds song "Little Boxes" opened an episode of the Showtime series Weeds.

January 2013 brought another label change, this time to the Omaha, Nebraska-based Saddle Creek. With Westin Glass added on drums, the group recorded and issued its sixth album, Desperate Ground, by April. Early in 2015 Harris and Foster toured as Hutch & Kathy to mark a re-release of their 2002 record. The trio reconvened soon afterward to begin work on new material, yielding the reliably fiery We Disappear in early 2016.