NOTHING BUT THIEVES RETURN WITH NEW ALBUM ‘DEAD CLUB CITY’
ALBUM REVIEW: NOTHING BUT THIEVES RETURN WITH NEW ALBUM “DEAD CLUB CITY”
“Dirty English sky is washing me away.”
“Tomorrow Is Closed” | Dead Club City
From the moment you hear the first few notes play from Dead Club City, the new album from English Rockers Nothing But Thieves. You know two things, this is not your standard Nothing But Thieves musical fare, and the band has boldly dipped their toes into the world of concept albums. So this is going to be a wild ride, and it is. If you haven't heard of Nothing But Thieves, they are a quintet hailing from Southend, U.K. comprising Conor Mason (vocals, guitar), Joe Langridge-Brown (guitars), Dominic Craik (guitars, keyboard), Philip Blake (bass), and James Price (drums). In their ten years, they have amassed quite the fanbase and following, including a #1 alternative radio single here in America with Trip Switch. Now the band is on the fourth studio album Dead Club City a blistering venture into an unknown world filled with narratives, characters, and concepts all inspired by the band's struggles with the pandemic, the lockdown, and life in this new world we live in. NBT has always had a natural knack for raw honesty and extrospection (and introspection in some cases) in their lyrics. So, an album like Dead City Club truly allows them to explore and hone in on those skills.
The album opener, Welcome To The DCC (aptly titled, I might add), quickly puts the listener within the world of the DCC. Frontman Conor Masons' honeyed falsetto greets you with the lyric Welcome To The DCC repeated. All set amongst an atmospheric soundscape of textured tones and synths. The crunchy layered guitars are all very 80s inspired and hard-hitting. The album segues into the second track, the anthemic single Overcome, a song filled with blissful synths, punchy basslines, and rockier guitars. Lyrically, it's one of few tracks that lean hopeful in tone and messaging. NBTs' grit is still very apparent throughout the record as well. It's not something they lost or even shied away from. It is all over tracks like Tomorrow Is Closed, City Haunts, and Members Only. The latter two have a sludgier stomp-rock vibe to them. There are a few restrained moments on the record, like the reflective love letter Green Eyes:: Siena and the slinky R&B-influenced confessional Talking To Myself. The band also leans fully into pop and electronic music on the dance-pop number Foreign Language. Dead Club City closes on a high note with the electric and hard-rock number Pop The Balloon. It is loud, brash, and so rock and roll. 
NOTHING BUT THIEVES - Dead Club City Album Cover
While Nothing But Thieves has been a band for ten years now. This fourth record clearly shows why they are one of the U.K.s most exciting Rock acts and live shows. Dead Club City demonstrates Nothing But Thieves' progression as a band and their skill in experimentation. It has not steered them wrong so far. While the concept album can quickly go bad, even comical for so many artists, for Nothing But Thieves, it didn't. It could be the overall evasiveness and abstract nature of what is the inner realm of the Dead Club City. Which comes across in a more choose-your-own-adventure manner, even more so with the attached visuals. Then there is the tight production from band member Dominic Craik and the on-point vocals from Conor Mason. Whatever it is that gelled together at the right time, Nothing But Thieves has easily put out one of my favorite albums of this year.
You can stream Nothing But Thieves' Dead Club City, which is out now on all DSPs, by clicking here.
Welcome to the DCC
Overcome
Tomorrow Is Closed
Keeping You Around
City Haunts
Do You Love Me Yet?
Members Only
Green Eyes :: Siena
Foreign Language
Talking To Myself
Pop The Balloon
ALBUM REVIEW: Andrew McMahon in The Wilderness - “TILT AT THE WIND NO MORE”
ALBUM REVIEW: ANDREW MCMAHON IN THE WILDERNESS - “TILT AT THE WIND NO MORE”
When Andrew McMahon first set out on a new journey within his musical career as a solo artist he had to overcome one of his biggest challenges ever… tackling Cancer. Now twenty years later when so many artists seemingly disappear, even without all the hardships, McMahon continues to rise and make some noise in the Alt Rock and Indie Pop scene under various monikers and projects. His latest as Andrew McMahon In The Wilderness is possibly his most well-known. Quite honestly the perfect creative alias for McMahon for what he has been through to come out the other side (or out of the wilderness, see what I did there?) happy, healthy, and with a family of his own, now looking back on it all with this new album, “Tilt at the Wind No More” out now on Nettwerk. The album is brimming with nostalgia, particularly Y2K nostalgia. A period of time that the album cover hints at. A pair of hands, of what I would assume is the hands of lovers, that can barely hold on amid vivid bright chaos. The cover is the perfect way to let the listener know what type of musical journey you will be taking, the kind of bold strokes of musical color that Andrew will choose to paint with.
“Tilt at the Wind No More” is the fourth album for Andrew under his Wilderness moniker and features production from Tommy English. "Lying On The Hood Of Your Car" opens up the record and is a song that quickly grabs your ear. It also has an underlying vibe of melancholy and nostalgia that sets the listener up for the rest of the album. We segue into two previously released singles, "Skywriting" & "Stars”. There are some exuberant synths and what sounds like some acoustic guitars set off in the back of the mix for good measure. These songs borrow from McMahon's earlier sounds, such as folk indie and country pop, with jangly guitars and a driving beat and bassline. "Submarine" leads us into more subdued territory as one of the few ballads on this release. "Built to Last" is the one that hones in the emotion, all without that feeling mawkish feeling like "Submarine". The use of a vocoder only adds to the hazy lo-fi fever dream. The other highlights of “Tilt at the Wind No More” include the bouncy pop confection "New Friends". We get an unapologetically fun, retro synth-wave drenched tune on "VHS". "Little Disaster" finds Andrew taking us down memory lane, grateful yet introspective. While the album for nonfans might feel a bit disjointed at times or too reminiscent of the mid-aughts radio-friendly indie pop, it is still a solid release. For fans of Andrew McMahon, they will no doubt be more pleased with this album and delighted with how many beautiful high notes this has.
SYNTH POP SIBLINGS BROODS GRIEVE LOSS THROUGH DANCE ON NEW ALBUM 'SPACE ISLAND'
BROODS ALSO RELEASE THE LYRIC VIDEO FOR THEIR COLLABORATION WITH TOVE LO 'I KEEP' WHICH IS ALSO ON THEIR FOURTH RELEASE AND ANNOUNCE A NORTH AMERICAN TOUR WITH TEI SHI AND ELLA VOS
'Space Island' is the new record by the New Zealand synth-pop sibling duo BROODS. Out today, via Island Records Australia/Ingrooves. The sibling duo featuring Georgia and Caleb Nott's fourth release is a catchy, enlightened, and luminous take on heartbreak and its emotional aftermath. A record featuring a menagerie of bops for the Millennial and Gen Z crowd that only falters towards the end of this foray. From the space-inspired visuals and sounds that permeate the album. Such as the atmospheric opener, 'Goodbye World, Hello Space Island'. BROODS sets the tone and allows the listener to enter into the otherworldly existence the album has set up. It's half a lament and the other half an introspection (something many of the album's tracks are) on a relationship ending. Georgia's vocals shine bright throughout this record, but there's a certain raspiness through the clarity on this opener that allows us to be invited into their world graciously. This track bleeds into 'Piece Of My Mind' which was our first taste of this album. It's a real escapist piece with blissful pop melodies, an electrifying pop groove, and underlying space-inspired sounds (a trend that links the entirety of the album). It's glitchy in the best way possible with a kicking bass line. 'Heartbreak' was the second track released and tackles acceptance of loss, using loss as a way to find yourself again. A slow-simmering number with 90's R&B-inspired elements like a thumping bassline and sparking piano synths that elevate the minimalist track.
'Space Island' is a record that came after dealing with a loss in Georgia's life as she dealt with a difficult divorce. After going through so much upheaval. The sibling duo turned to music to heal and deal. They also began to experiment and create with their music. Thus, bringing forth a new freshness and intensity to their pop sound. It's something that works on most of their tracks, particularly on the last single (which also dropped today). 'I Keep' is the only collaboration on 'Space Island' and is with fellow synth-pop phenom Tove Lo. Tove Lo is an artist they've worked with prior on the track, 'Freak Of Nature'. Their new collaboration with her 'I Keep' is a glitchy two-step bop. They use the repetitive 'I Keep' chorus to their advantage. Tove Lo is the perfect accompaniment for this honeyed sad girl club banger. Songs such as 'Like A Woman', 'Gaslight' and 'Alien' offer quieter moments of the record, showcasing the piano and organ work. 'Like A Woman' is the standout amongst these with its painfully honest lyrics and the gorgeous organ sounds from Caleb's Farfisa organ. Tracks like 'Alien' and 'Days Are Passing' felt disconnected to the album as a whole, leaning too much on the mellow tropical pop sound. While 'Gaslight' could have bordered onto saccharine-sweet land if not for the biting lyrics and tone, while 'Alien' and 'Days Are Passing' make for some of the weaker numbers on 'Space Island'. The album closer to 'If You Fall In Love' brings the whole album full circle. This trip-hop-inspired track connects the spacey sounds from the first song and features more beautiful organ work. Georgia's vocals form a lilting quality throughout. It's not until around 2:42 in this song that the tempo picks up into a summery pop jam until it closes. BROODS uses 'Space Island' to experiment, express, discover and let go of feelings left over after such a tumultuous time. For fans, BROODS has produced otherwordly sci-fi oasis through music to dive in. Though, casuals will not have a tough time selecting a track or two for playlist consumption.
You can stream the new BROODS album "Space Island" by clicking here
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