Nothing but Thieves Could Go Down in History
It’s easy to cast off and overlook a band at first glance. The hits that take to radio are always somewhat forgettable — good, great even, a headbanger and a tune to turn the volume up to, but the hype fades and the track is played less and less on their radio stations. We’ve all had our fill of one-hit wonders. Thought to ourselves maybe the rest of their stuff is just as good, and then get a steaming let-down of awkward, clunky songs with very little replay value.
Harsh? Sure. True? You know it is.
I was talking to someone about vinyl and the way that listening to music has changed with technology over time. Part of this is that we no longer experience EPs and albums as we used to — listening from the very first track to the last. The order used to tell a story or, at the very least, take us on a journey.
I was curious, so I tested this thought process in the shower putting on Nothing but Thieves’ very first song on their very first album and unselected the shuffle feature. I’m pretty sure I’m still running off the rush of whatever chemical was ignited in my brain from listening to the band’s albums from start to finish because that was six months ago and I still have them on repeat. What’s up with that?
What is it that shot Nothing but Thieves to the top of the favourite list?
What makes each song something special and not just a skippable extra?
I barely even recognise the radio-repeat songs like Amsterdam and Futureproof, excellent songs but the real heart of the band lies within the songs that don’t make the rotation. Their lyrics are stylistically fascinating, combined with clever tunes and instrumentals that create a unique sound which stays with you somewhere deeper than any earworm can.
Songs like ‘Can You Afford to be An Individual’ have no discernible chorus and very little repetition, yet the variety and rising intonation replace the known comfort and satisfaction a chorus brings for an angry and unsettled one-way conversation. These are the problems, do something about it — if we can see it, so can you.
While I am naturally more positively predisposed to music which expresses a level of political unrest (Muse was my favourite band from the age of 11), Nothing but Thieves brings the complete package with one of my personal favourite EPs What did you think when you made me this way featuring the track Take this Lonely Heart. Their lyrical choices remind me more of poetry than words to fit a beat, interchangeable and undefinable but with snippets of universal association.
The value of listening to more than a band’s radio edit never appeared to be more important than with a band like NBT, showing merely one song does not do them justice and nor does it define their sound. With a range like Connor Mason’s vocals and the band’s instrumental variety, Nothing But Thieves could feasibly take the position of shaping the musical attitudes of a generation. It would surprise me greatly if, in ten years’ time, the band weren’t commanding large swathes of fans with unbridled media attention. What do you think?
