Nothing But Thieves - Dead Club City

If you still don't know the band Nothing But Thieves at this point, perhaps you enjoy other genres.

The journey began with their eponymous debut album Nothing But Thieves in 2015. Via the Spotify Weekly Mix, the song Trip Switch washed over the rotation into my playlist. When Conor Mason's voice landed in my ear at 0:12 seconds, I stopped short and reached for my phone. Who the heck is that? A high pitched crystal clear, energetic, soulful voice full of humility and nostalgia. It was energetic, turbulent, and coupled with an impressive sonic tapestry of analog tube sounds and modern synth elements. Distorted, rocking (more indie rock than hard rock) and a hybrid between past and future—sounds great!

This meant that there were even bigger expectations for Dead Club City. Just two years after Moral Panic, the young Brits from Southend-on-Sea managed to put 11 new songs on the floor again. This time in complete self-direction in a self-built studio in Essex, England.

Dead Club City - Track by Track

With the first single Welcome to the DCC (1) the band shows their preference for danceable synth beats in a Dark 80s vibe with electronic Daft Punk elements. The single is a brave step, which had to sink in first. For me, it's not a classic Nothing But Thieves song. Instead I acquired the taste for it after repeated listening, and eventually, after the first live performance.

All the greater the joy when the second single Overcome (2) makes the hearts of the fans beat high. With the lines "We shall overcome, as we've done before" you can feel the energy and the spirit to have finally overcome the difficult times and the burden of the band from the past few years. A forward driving, pedal-to-the-metal, pulsating track comes in at number 8, bringing everything you love about the alternative indie rockers. This is my personal favorite song of the record and rightly a worthy single release.

Tomorrow Is Closed (3) follows directly afterwards. If you look at the performance in the music video, it becomes clear how much pent-up energy is released and leaves Conor's body while singing. A valve that threatened to overflow and now finally breathes again. For me a great song and the second strongest song on the record.

With Keeping Around (4) James Price subsequently brings in a laid-back beat on the drums, which makes for a pleasant listening environment. Conor's vocal performance here is reminiscent of the band Muse in the meantime and is also mixed similarly. Definitely not a bad song that deserves its place on the record.

"Bruce Springsteen meets The Killers at Muse concert."

City Hounts (5), on the other hand, relies on a spacey distorted bass, which again strongly reminds of the band Muse. Unfortunately, even after repeated listening, it's just not the strongest song in my opinion. No significant message or development, and while the bridge is playful, it's rather unimaginative.

With Do you Love Me Yet (6) the synth keyboard is used again. For me it's simply not the band's strength, and it's clearly weaker than the skillful riffs of Joe Langridge-Brown and Dominic Craik on the guitars.

Members Only (7) starts with a heavily distorted guitar riff and at first reminds of one of the big hits like Trip Switch from the vocal line, but doesn't make it to this caliber.

With Green Eyes - Siena (8) follows a ballad in the hope to feel Conor's unique voice in full garb. Unfortunately it's a bit too fast and not terribly appealing due to the strong "telephone-middle-mix" and rather inappropriate keyboard sounds in organ garb.

This does not get much better with Foreign Language (9). The band gets lost in an excessively-digital keyboard soundscape, which doesn't reflect the real strength of the band.

Talking To Myself (10) also fails to build on the first half of the album. What started great gets muddied here.

Pop The Balloon (11) then really ramps up again at the end. The guitar riffs are back, but the track seems too playful and lyrically unimaginative.

Conclusion of the Dead Club City record

Unfortunately, this album hits the current zeitgeist and shows why whole albums find less and less of an audience. A 6 track EP would have been the perfect way to go here. It felt like there was not enough time for more great songs. Nevertheless the songs Overcome (2), Welcome to the DCC (1) and Tomorrow is Closed (3) show again the great talent and potential of the band. These are songs that shouldn't be missed, and which have more than earned their place in the playlists and hearts of Alternative Indie lovers. Thanks a lot for that! Much love! Wee look forward to all that is to come. 3 1/2 out of 5 mukken stars measured against the greats and with definite future potential.

• Queens Of The Stone Age – In Times New Roman…
• Grave Pleasures – Plagueboys
• KGLW – PetroDragonic Apocalypse
• Cattle Decapitation – Terrasite

Nothing But Thieves - Album Nr. 4 (BTS)

P.S. If, like me, you're also into behind-the-scenes studio footage, you can check out the band's likable YouTube series here for more insights:

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