NOTHING BUT THIEVES: Dead Club City (POP): review / opinion to read on Music Waves

Nothing but Thieves has always been a band on borrowed time. Between the mental health problems of its leader, Conor Mason, depressed and struggling to fulfill his role as frontman, the accusations of sexual harassment in 2017 and then the pandemic of the 2020s, there was plenty to give up. However, the band has always managed to move on, releasing an album every two years or so that has been very well received by audiences and critics alike. To fight his demons and with the backing of his partners, Conor Mason released a highly personal EP in 2022, Man-Made Sunshine, a kind of cathartic project designed to restore his faith in life. Could 2023 be the year of deliverance, with "Dead Club City" as his fourth opus?

This time, Nothing but Thieves return to the synth sounds of the 80s, right from the opening track, 'Welcome to the DCC'. British pop influences abound, including (for those of you who've been around a while) Manic Street Preachers (whom Muse made famous by inviting to open for them), even if the absence of a guitar hero in the band doesn't make the resemblance obvious at first glance. On the other hand, Nothing but Thieves take great care to compose songs chiselled for the stage, a field in which they excel.

Conor Mason constantly alternates between full voice and falsetto, and despite the cheerful tone of the tracks and their almost always up-tempo tempo (you have to wait until the eighth track 'Green Eyes: Siena' to hear a mid-tempo rhythm), a certain melancholy emanates from the various songs in which its author, having crossed paths with depression, expresses his doubts.

Eleven tracks in 42 minutes is short, but just right. Despite a few slower, less striking tracks, "Dead Club City" remains a successful album, a perfect pop treat for 2023. Nothing But Thieves is a band worth seeing at festivals, to get a better grasp of their live energy and confirm the danceability of their songs. - Official website

NOTHING BUT THIEVES

DEAD CLUB CITY

SONY MUSIC

POP