Desperate Ground

Desperate Ground is the sixth album from the Portland-based indie rock band The Thermals. The album was released on April 15, 2013, on Saddle Creek Records. It was produced by John Agnello (Dinosaur Jr, Sonic Youth) in Hoboken, New Jersey. Agnello and The Thermals completed the record and evacuated the studio just hours before Hurricane Sandy ravaged New Jersey.^[1]

Desperate Ground
Studio album by The Thermals
Released	April 15, 2013 (2013-04-15)
Recorded	2012–2013
Genre	Indie rock, lo-fi, alternative rock
Length	26:25
Label	Saddle Creek Records
Producer	John Agnello
The Thermals chronology
Personal Life (2010) Desperate Ground (2013) We Disappear (2016)

The title came from The Art of War by Sun Tzu.^[2]

Reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	73/100[3]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[4]
The A.V. Club	C[5]
Consequence of Sound	C+[6]
Exclaim!	8/10[7]
Pitchfork	5.0/10[8]

Reviews of Desperate Ground represent a diverse mix of opinions on the album. The album holds a score of 73 out of 100 from Metacritic, indicating "generally favorable reviews".^[3]

Track listing

All lyrics are written by Hutch Harris; all music is composed by Kathy Foster/Hutch Harris/Westin Glass.

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Born to Kill"	1:48
2.	"You Will Be Free"	2:45
3.	"The Sunset"	2:51
4.	"I Go Alone"	3:12
5.	"The Sword by My Side"	3:10
6.	"You Will Find Me"	2:22
7.	"Faces Stay with Me"	2:32
8.	"The Howl of the Winds"	2:29
9.	"Where I Stand"	2:08
10.	"Our Love Survives"	3:08

Personnel

• Kathy Foster – bass, vocals
• Hutch Harris – guitar, vocals
• Westin Glass – drums, vocals

Chart performance

Chart (2013)	Peak position
US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)[9]	1
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[10]	39