Sweet says he quickly emphasized the three-part harmony approach. His high vocals meshed seamlessly with Mullins’ low, whiskey-tinged voice and Droge’s Tom Petty-esque singing. After a couple of days, the initially skeptical artist wedged his way firmly into the mix. He had joked with Carter about starting a modern version of famed ’60s guy/girl vocal quartet the Mamas & the Papas. Like the others, Sweet was interested in trying something new in his career. He was encouraged to listen to a few songs and consider writing with them. The Thorns sprouted about 13 months ago, when Sweet, at the suggestion of manager Russell Carter (who is also Mullins’ manager), joined Droge and Mullins in a Los Angeles studio.

VH1 and CMT, meanwhile, are airing the song’s videoclip. 15 on the Triple-A chart published by Billboard’s sister publication Airplay Monitor. The band’s unusual sound has found favor with video and triple-A programmers. I guess it’s because all the boy bands were doing harmonies and stuff, so maybe this wasn’t cool to do for the last few years anyway.”īe certain, the Thorns’ update on mid-’70s Southern California acoustic pop owes more to CSN and the Beach Boys than to the wave of boy-band pop that has dominated the charts in recent years. “I mean, there’s probably about 10 groups sittin’ around going, ‘We f***in’ did this!’ But it doesn’t immediately come to mind. Yet the brand of harmony- and acoustic-guitar-based rock they play has, surprisingly, been virtually absent from the pop landscape for more than a decade.

Sure, in the grand scheme of things, what the three singer/songwriters created isn’t as notable as, say, the early, generation-defining work of Crosby, Stills, & Nash (CSN), a group that the Thorns immediately recall. In joining together to form the Thorns - a group focused entirely on three-part harmonies - Matthew Sweet, Pete Droge, and Shawn Mullins do not seem to have created anything terribly groundbreaking.īut as one listens to the trio sing in unison on the 13 songs that make up its self-titled debut, issued May 20 via Aware/Columbia, it starts to seem otherwise.

Kids song collection