The one thing that truly set Thrice apart from the throngs of other early-to-mid -00s post-hardcore bands was the ability of lead singer Dustin Kensrue to craft great choruses. Even at their moshiest, there was a pop sensibility that displayed a deep appreciation for blues, folk, and classic R&B that demanded singalong.

Even as they’ve expanded their sonic palette to incorporate elements of post rock, sludge metal, and electronica, his love of roots music has remained central. Beggars may be the only album in history to cite both Isis and Billie Holiday as influences.

With this in mind, longtime Thrice fans should find no surprises in his 2015 solo record Carry the Fire, a relatively subdued pop record that finds him embracing these elements without the need for hardcore catharsis.

Carry the Fire is Dustin’s second solo record (third if you include the excellent worship album he later rereleased under the name “The Modern Post,” but that serves a totally different purpose), but it’s probably the most effective. 2007’s Please Come Home was a pleasant enough folk record, but it almost too stripped back. Besides the timbre of his voice, there was very little that felt like the same guy who gave us Vheissu or The Alchemy Index. In fact, the fourth disc of The Alchemy Index was itself a folk EP in its own right, and much more successful than his solo outing.

Carry the Fire though has a bit more guts. There’s an indie rock punch a la Black Keys or Cold War Kids without sounding like a commercial soundtrack. Most of the tracks have a pulsing energy thanks to hammering pianos, overdriven guitars, and urgent drums. Tracks like “Ruby” and “Gallows” are energetic and passionate without being too aggressive. Midtempo tracks like “Back to Black” and Death or Glory” recall American heroes like Jackson Browne and Tom Petty in the best way.

Lyrically, it’s more personal than the political bent the last few Thrice albums have taken. There are number of love songs to his wife and a few spiritual songs. But throughout every subject matter, he calls the listener to hope. The closing track, the urgent and pensive “Carry the Fire” opens with the lyrics, “When all we have are rags and bones/Just hold my hand, and don’t let go/When the husks of men haunt the roads/Hold your breath, and hold fast hope.”

That last line will sound familiar to Thrice fans, and is as close to a mantra as Kensrue has ever had, whether with his bandmates or on his own. And it’s the throughline of this album. In all circumstances, through love and despair and darkness and light, hold fast hope. It makes this album feel like a definitive statement, and when put to the catchy tunes and expert arrangements of these songs, it’s the closest thing to a pop masterpiece Dustin Kensrue has yet achieved.