Indie pop-punk heroes the Thermals began in 2002, with Hutch Harris and Kathy Foster who, after several lineup changes, have remained the band's only constants. The Thermals built a following through their high-energy performances, both live and on record, and their emotionally charged and frankly political lyrics. Even when the subject matter gets almost overwhelmingly angry and heavy (as it most notably did on their third album, The Body, The Blood, The Machine), the bright levity of the music never allows an album to get bogged down in bitterness. Hutch Harris may sometimes sound like a punk-rock preacher, but the Thermals never quite sound preachy, if you get my drift.

Glass, formerly of Seattle's Say Hi, joined the Thermals just after the release of their fourth record, Now We Can See, and collaborated with them closely in the recording of their most recent effort, Personal Life. As the name might suggest, Personal Life largely shifts focus from global matters to matters of the heart - broken or swelling as it may be, day to day. Accordingly, Personal Life carries a more mellow tone than one is used to hearing from the Thermals. Oh, it's still punk rock, but it doesn't seethe and spit with as much intensity as they have in the past.

Read my interview with drummer Westin Glass here.

The Thermals

with Broken Water, White Fan
Sunday, Jan. 23, 8 p.m., $8
Northern, 321 Fourth Ave., Olympia
northernolympia.org