When the Thrills arrived on the global stage in 2003, observers repeatedly characterized the Dublin quintet’s music as “sun-drenched,” “sun-soaked,” or simply “sunny.” The group’s first album drew its primary spark from classic American pop of the late 1960s and early 1970s; the band shaped most of the material during repeated summer visits to San Diego and San Francisco before refining the tracks during Ireland’s rainy winters, when the members took jobs to finance those journeys. While citing Phil Spector, the Beach Boys, and Neil Young as touchstones—and counting Morrissey, Oasis, and U2 among their most prominent supporters—the Thrills stood apart from the transatlantic garage-rock revival, yet their fluent pop instincts secured two Top Ten albums within two years.
The band’s history traces back to the mid-1990s in Dublin’s Blackrock suburb, where neighbors Conor Deasy and Daniel Ryan—later the singer and bass guitarist—started the Cheating Housewives alongside Gonzaga College schoolmates Ben Carrigan on drums, Kevin Horan on keyboards, and Pádraic McMahon on guitar. In 2001 the ensemble adopted the name the Thrills. They immediately began writing and recording demos in hopes of landing a contract, which arrived quickly from the local imprint Supremo Recordings, home to Chicks. For a period the group avoided the busy Dublin club circuit that had launched many peers, especially those lacking the West Coast pop sensibility that defined their own songs. Throughout the first half of 2002, however, their occasional performances turned into contests among major-label scouts seeking to secure their signature.
Still in 2002, the Thrills chose Virgin Records for the creative latitude it offered and for the chance to cut their debut in Hollywood under producer Tony Hoffer, whose credits included Beck and Air. In September, Morrissey invited them to support his concert at London’s Royal Albert Hall, marking their first U.K. appearance; the following month they issued the debut EP Santa Cruz (You're Not That Far). December found them back in Los Angeles laying down tracks for what became their first full-length release. After returning to Dublin in 2003, the band put out its initial single, “One Horse Town,” in March; the track entered the Irish chart at number seven and the U.K. chart at number eighteen. So Much for the City appeared in May, debuting at number one in Ireland and number three in the U.K. and eventually earning multiple platinum certifications in both territories. Three further hit singles followed: “Big Sur” in March, “Santa Cruz (You're Not That Far)” in August, and “Don't Steal Our Sun” in December.
The second album, Let’s Bottle Bohemia, surfaced in September 2004. Once more recorded in Los Angeles, this time with producer D. Sardy, it featured orchestral arrangements by Van Dyke Parks and a guest mandolin turn from R.E.M.’s Peter Buck. Although it opened at number one in Ireland, it managed only number nine in the U.K. and made little impact elsewhere. Its lead single, “Whatever Happened to Corey Haim?,” nonetheless finished 2004 as BBC Radio 1’s most-requested song, and the album itself reached platinum status in Ireland in 2005. An extended hiatus ensued while the band sought to shift its sonic direction. Their third album was first tracked in New York in 2006, yet the results fell short of the group’s expectations. Fresh songs were composed, among them the single and opening cut “Midnight Choir.” Following a suggestion from R.E.M., the five members moved into a converted morgue in inner-city Vancouver to recut the record with Tony Hoffer. Teenager emerged in June 2007. Rougher and more forceful than its predecessors, the album made little impression on the British and Irish charts, moving just 600 copies in Ireland during its opening week and barely entering the U.K. Top 50. Its American release followed in October 2007.
