Nothing But Thieves have without a doubt been making their mark on the indie and rock scene since their self titled debut album in 2015, with Moral Panic their follow up to the bands 2017 album Broken Machine due for release in October this year. With the lead single Is Everybody Going Crazy? Being a fabulous alt rock anthem that really felt it was written with the worldwide pandemic in mind, and the indie ballad that was Real Love Song, showing again the new sounds to expect from the upcoming album, with tighter production, brilliant riffs and catchy hooks to obsess over. The band dropped the third single, and opening track of the upcoming album, Unperson at midnight and really shows the talent this band has to offer.
An absolute stomper that’s sure to end up in your playlists and be the soundtrack to your Autumn, something that wouldn’t feel out of place in a Hacienda type venue, but all the same fit right in with the hardcore scene of the last half decade. The boys behind the bangers are known for their quirky craftsmanship, with comparisons to Muse and Radiohead thrown around, and heavy hip hop inspiration within the rhythm sides of things. But Unperson shows the band expanding upon their well established sounds, with heavier hard rock guitars, electronic soundscapes, psychedelic undertones and RnB style vocals, when combined give an unmistakable Nothing But Thieves sound, but with a chaotic vibrant dystopian twist, harking more to the music embedded within a Sonic The Hedgehog game. But don’t let that fool you, this is not ‘background’ music, this is punchy, in your face rock, which makes you want to headbang and dance around your room like a young punkish Morrissey but minus the modern statements that make you question your parents record collection.
The statements written within the song see Conor Mason cry out about the abundance of people, in a modern world where demand beats supply not only with material goods, but with living, breathing people, making him question a godlike figure, convinced he’s an ‘unperson’, someone not fit for ‘public consumption’. With the internet and the millennial ‘woke’ culture, this feels like it reaches out for the kids lost in the mix, the people with desperate dissatisfaction with the world they live in, where good morals and right or wrong is too often brushed under the carpet, leaving you a whimper in a crowd, referencing being ‘another clone of a clone’ and how they ‘didn’t sign up for this’ The song reeks of the frustration of the young voices being drowned out by regressive ideology, and it’s fantastic, making it so much more impactful that way. It’s a statement begging to be heard and it definitely leaves its mark.
The song may have just dropped, but it passive aggressively invites you to come in, and really listen to what it has to say, ‘This is not what you think it is, it’s worse’, alluding to the change that is inevitable to come, which may even hint towards the changes within the bands sound too, not just it’s social commentary. Another absolutely menacing track, that leaves you grinning in suspense for the release of the album on October 23rd.
