Here's the cover for the Thermals' fourth album, Now We Can See, out April 7 on new label home Kill Rock Stars. If you're a Thermals fan, you might be familiar with the cut-and-paste collage aesthetic, as it has been employed on the covers of all three past Thermals albums. However, unlike those other covers, this one doesn't seem to be making an aggressive political statement. Also, nothing is being set on fire. Have the Thermals gone soft? Has the promise of Barack Obama's presidency lulled them into complacency? Does this album just consist of doe-eyed tender acoustic love ballads? Are we reading too much into this? (Yes.) read more