Nothing But Thieves are lost in the void. Not alternative enough for the diehard alternatives; not indie enough for the hipster crowds and too complex for the pop market. By no means the first to find themselves in such a predicament, the Southend-on-Sea five-piece are left with little option but to let the music do the talking, hopefully blissfully ignorant of any genre debate that might surround them.
As if hell bent on making that very process more difficult for themselves, the self-titled full-length is adamantly reluctant to settle on any direct style. There’s the soulful swagger of ‘Ban All The Music’, the rock and roll infused ‘Itch’, the mesmerizingly beautiful ‘If I Get High’ and the London Grammer-esque ‘Graveyard Whistling’ all before the record reaches its halfway mark. That’s before ‘Hostage’ channels a particularly angry Jeff Buckley circa ‘Sketches For My Sweetheart The Drunk’.
It is vocalist Conor Mason that pulls it all together, transferring his genuinely breath-taking vocals from a live setting into the studio. His vocal chords have already enjoyed comparisons to the aforementioned Buckley as well as Muse’s Matt Bellamy, both of whom see him in some rather spectacular company. Whereas the song composition throughout the record inspires the album’s pulse, Mason is the undisputed backbone. The vocal powerhouse on ‘Lover, Please Stay’ is as show-stopping on record as it is live.
These moments showcase just how Nothing But Thieves have acquired a wealth of well regarded cross-genre supporters. Despite the somewhat unsettled nature of the album, it’s still an exciting showcase of what the band have in store. The variety will ensure that fans will find their favourites in different parts of the record, be it the guitar-pop numbers, the riff laden rock or the experimental nuances that run throughout.
Nothing But Thieves may be lost in a void, but that seemingly won’t stop them owning that very same space. With a little more focus, the quintet have ample opportunity to move from a truly exciting prospect to international superstars. If Muse headlining Download 2015 taught us anything, it’s that genre boundaries are blurring. With music this promising, who needs boundaries anyway.
BEN TIPPLE