One of my favorite things about music is its ability to transport you to another world. Music can express emotions so fully in a way that words cannot. But for a song to touch us this powerfully takes a certain clarity and honesty that many artists lack. For me, there are a few clichés that can instantly bring me back down to Earth. When a rapper starts a song with “uh”, or “yeah”, when a singer belts out a Christina Aguilera-esque sweep, or when a metal song drops into a cheesy breakdown, that is when I tune out. It breaks down the fourth wall. For me it’s Ferris Bueller looking into the camera after the credits and telling me to go home. It’s a painful reminder that this is just a song, not a wormhole to a different dimension. With that said, I’m proud to tell you that Thieves Like Us are not cliché. These men and women are fucking astronauts!
Thieves Like Us play an electro/rock style that is similar to Hot Chip, Delphic, and Empire of the Sun. The guitars have a jangly, distant sound reminiscent of groups from the 80s, i.e. The Cure, The Smiths. Their synths are big and warm. The bass lines are the most impressive element of their sound. The electronic low-end is always deep and thumping while still remaining clear and never muddy. The vocalist delivers the lyrics in a whispery shoegazer croon. This understated and earnest delivery of the lyrics is the perfect compliment to the dreamy pulse of the keyboards and the ethereal dissipation of the guitars. The drums are adequate and well produced, but they were never really a big factor in my enjoyment of the songs. That isn’t to say that they’re boring, they’re just not featured in a prominent role here.
All of this comes together to create a dense atmosphere that is at once alien and enthralling. This album will NOT induce eye-rolling, lip squiggling, or cheek reddening. When this album clicks it is just about the purest expression of pop music I’ve ever heard. Unfortunately that is not always the case. “Mercy”, not only seems out of place on this record, it’s just not a very good song. “Lover Lover”, is a passable track, but it doesn’t touch me in the way other songs on this album do.
For the most part these are some high quality tunes. My current favorite is “One Night With You”. That’s the kind of song I could listen to on repeat for hours until I have to force myself to stop out of fear that I’ll grow numb to its beauty and lose an appreciation of all of its intricacies. I say that’s my current favorite because I know I’ll be listening to this album many more times over, and no doubt I will have a new favorite song in the future. Again and Again just feels “real” to me. And in the economy of music, honesty is the number one currency. It’s the one thing that separates the “songs” from the “wormholes”.
I give this album 4.5 out of 5.
