Thieves are a four piece psych rock and roll band from London. In mid December last year they released thier debut EP Stung and Sober to a great response therefore we thought it was about time for us to give our two cents.
The first track ‘My Baby Holds Me Tight’ instantly shows off their old school rock influences ,with a standard crescendo ridden drumming introduction leading into a surprisingly clean performance and delivery from frontman Luke Sheild. Sheild’s singing style emphasises the strong ‘British’ accent that everyone loves so much. Thieves flip flop during this track, going from a decent sounding bridge build up to a chorus that feels slightly anti-climactic. Then, towards then end, you feel the song entering a reprise section only to find the drums and guitars become disjunct, pause and then push you straight into another chorus, this time featuring satisfying backing vocals. This song speaks as one that would be more appreciated heard live; especially with the final part when the individual elements launch into their own little worlds, playing their own melodies and counter melodies to construct an enjoyable mash up section – a feature heavily used in traditional jazz.
The second track on the EP, ‘I Want You’, is an incontestable stand-out. This song, more than any other, reeks of their self proclaimed Rolling Stones influence. With a 60’s style drum beat and a straight up rock and roll guitar riff, ‘I Want You’ could be in danger of being a re-hash of the classic 60’s style we all know and love. However, thanks to a strong, raspy vocal performance and an interesting bassline, the track is saved. ‘I Want You’ contains the all important element of memorability as I had to find out the hard way with it being stuck in my head for two days solid. This tune contains little parts of brilliance, from the modernisation of the classic rock and roll formula, to their use of organ and brief tempo changes towards the end. Without a doubt, ‘I Want You’ is by far the best song on the EP.
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Song three ‘Headed Outta Town’ sees Thieves slow down the pace to produce a really great blues track. A small amount of reverberance does wonders here, with an echoic sound really helping out the emotional impact of the song. The bending guitar sound makes you feel like you are walking through a desert and Shield’s soft vocals sounds like he is whispering in your ear this story about… something, which is where my problem lies. I really wish this song was longer. I can’t help feel that another minute would’ve done this song justice in that it as it stands, the story telling in ‘Headed Outta Town’ doesn’t possess the richness that so many great blues songs does. With tremendous guitar solos throughout, notably at about 1:40, this tune seems to really be an exhibition for guitarist Mike Whitaker: fair play to him, as he nails it.
The fourth and final track ‘Only Lover’ is, unfortunately, less notable than its predecessors. Hanging onto influences is great but ‘Only Lover’ is just too similar to Lynyrd Skynyrd’s ‘Sweet Home Alabama’. The melody may be different, but the chord progression, piano inserts and backing vocals prevent this song from being anywhere near original.
Thieves have produced a strong release here and have had a well deserved response from various listeners. 3/4 of the songs are good, half of the songs are great and 1/4 of the are excellent, so all in all this is a solid EP. Extremely high potential is evident throughout as they appear to have a really great thing going with putting their own twist on classic styles.
Words by Alex L