Hands up if you caught a glimpse of the artwork on the right and had to do a quick double take. Punktastic reviewing The Boss? Not quite. Title and cover pastiche aside Only Thieves has little in common with Bruce Springsteen. Certainly it’s hard to recall New Jersey‘s favourite son ever playing power-pop chords with a punk-rock edge in the manner of this Tallahassee trio.
‘Hammered for the Holidays’, the opening track on this self-released debut comes across like Fake Problems‘ close sibling, starting off all gentle with an acoustic guitar before a tab is pulled, literally, and the pace is off to the races. The vocals are a little off-kilter but with an upbeat feeling that is similarly pertinent throughout the fellow Floridian’s ‘It’s Great To Be Alive’ album. It’s a real solid opening which is just as well because what follows isn’t quite up to the standard.
On first listen the four tracks that follow come across as weak and uninspired, not really generating any kind of singularity. Part of the problem comes from the recording that sounds convoluted and muddy. Now, that’s on first listen. On subsequent plays things start to change. The muddy recording is on purpose, full of distortion and high-hats high in the mix. Once you get your ears around it that sense of singularity that was missing starts to become apparent. ‘I Got Left Behind’ sounds about as close to a live track as possible; you end up imagining a sweaty, body-filled little basement with guitarist/vocalist Jeremy Barnes snaking his way around a mic-stand spitting out lyrics. That’s the sound the band was looking for.
‘Ghosts In Your Room’ has the E.P.’s monstrously big power-pop mega chorus, a little number intent on knocking the wind right out of you. Whilst it doesn’t quite floor you it is proficient enough to entice a little body-moving, and acts as a pretty good summation of the band itself; a solid package with just enough bubbling under the surface to make for repeated listening, if you get over the initial hump that is.
Alex