There are a lot of bands out there that have a ‘thief’ motif in their name. With so many thieves in the crowd it’s important to find a way to stand out without resorting to twerking. So what should you expect from a good thief, (besides not swiping your shit)? What you want is relatable and powerful storytelling. What you want is compelling instrumentation. What you want is engaging vocals. What you want is Sydney’s alternative rock duo Thieves.
The personal, introspective and melancholic poetry of Sydney’s Thieves is, simply put, quite beautiful. Catch the band at Jam Gallery this Friday for JAWS!
Thieves, comprised of Thomas Keating and Mitchell Crum (not to be mistaken for a former Prime Minister and famous Quidditch player respectively), have been doing the pro musician thing since 2010. The band describe themselves as a heart felt project and friendship, and these elements definitely show in their music. The band excel in their ability to tell personal stories of love, sacrifice, dreams and the ordinary. Their song Father is a good place to start with Thieves, the track is a powerful reflection on the relationship between a father and son. It embraces the good and the bad in this kind of relationship, as well as predicting how it will effect the future. If there is one thing Thieves do well with their songwriting it is tell a complete, engrossing story that both feels epic and yet very relatable.
Which brings us to their new single A Way To Ease The Pain. The band have been hunkered away for the majority of the year writing and recording for their debut album Mary which will be out in February next year. In the meantime we have A Way To Ease The Pain, and it is an impressive taste of the album, one part introspective confession and other part hopeful vision of the future. “Can we leave here together?” sings Keating repeatedly throughout the track, at times feeling like a desperate plea and other times feeling more like an innocent request. His trembling vocals are measured, almost restrained, as if he is holding something back. The music continues to bop along with a nice guitar driven melody, reminiscent of the late Papa vs Pretty.
When the bridge crashes in the distortion pedal is switched on and the song shifts up a few gears to deliver a real punch as the melancholy within the song swells. Keating lets lose “And I have been lost in love with you, trying to break through the clouds. And all we ever wanted was to be someone”. Is there a way to erase pain? We all search for a way to do so, but feeling pain serves as a reminder that we are human and we are alive, and it is with this resignation that A Way To Ease The Pain sinks back to its initial melancholy melody.
February may seem like forever away but to help bridge the gap of waiting for their debut the best way to catch Thieves in all their glory is at Jam Gallery at Bondi for the weekly JAWS event. Thieves will be playing alongside Hedge Fund and Space Monk, so be sure to get on down!
FIND OUT MORE ON
▲ FACEBOOK ▲ BANDCAMP ▲ TWITTER ▲ JAWS EVENT
[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/169264934″ params=”color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]
