If there were true justice in this crazy, mixed-up, muddled-up world we live in, The Thieves would be huge. I mean gargantuan. Bands like The Strokes and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs would be scrambling over themselves just to be their opening act. Jet and the Datsuns would be lowering their guitars in respect, bowing down at the Thieves altar, offering gifts and sacrifices for the opportunity to riff along with the masters.
How do you like your rock n roll? Fast and furious but with a melodic edge? Rough and raw, but filled with clear vocals and soaring, catchy choruses? So full of driving emotion and energy that it gets pumped into your veins like an I.V. infusion, making you just damn glad happy to be alive?
On this six song EP, the Thieves dispatched with the gloss that shimmered over the production on their terrific full-length debut, Tales from the White Line, opting for a more garage-based sound. And I mean that literally. Where the Bright Lights Bloom was recorded in the band's LA garage on breaks from touring with the aim of trying to capture the band's dynamic live energy. And they succeeded. With this release, The Thieves have officially left the relatively sedate environs of their past lives in Oxford behind and become honorary crazy citizens of jet-fueled California. Gone are the layered textures of their brit-rock past, replaced by the fierce edge of the Sunset Strip and manic energy of VeniceBeach.
"Tell Me Something," rages out of the stereo, adrenaline-hyped and revving at 100 mph. Even the vocals match the ferocious pace of the driving riff, coming at you half sung, half spoken, faster than any human being should be able to speak. The chorus is vintage Thieves, melodic and memorable, with the added extra of some fine female backing vocals, reminding me of, dare I say it, Lynyard Skynyrd. Not that the band sound the least bit country, mind you, but the female singers harmonizing behind Hal's vocals just adds that kick-ass southern touch.
Without even pausing to let the sweat dry on your blistering skin, the disc spins right into "OxfordTown," the Thieves official goodbye to their old hometown. Sam Stokes and Jamie Dawson keep the song propelled with a tight rhythm section. The highlight of the disc though is the out and out, one-two punch of "Oh Lord," and "Velcro Colors." The riff from "Oh Lord," rages at you supercharged, speeding like a bullet train into your brain. Again, in my perfect world, this track would be the soundtrack to any number of sports greatest hits films, guys pummeling themselves senseless on the football field, hockey ice or (with deference to my Oxford buds) the rugby pitch. This song should blare from every stadium's loud speakers, welcoming the home team to the gladiatorial arena before the bloodletting begins. It would pump the crowd into a frenzy better than a thousand "Welcome to the Jungle's."
"Velcro Colors," may be the best song the Thieves have done so far. Starting with a stuttering guitar riff over Sam's bass, Hal's vocals carry the perfect hint of road-weariness as he sings, "Blind illusion keeps you far from home/What am I to do?" Slightly more complex in structure than the previous arrangements, "Velcro," is the closest hint to the Thieves sound on White Line, but still amped up as if they'd spent all night raiding the Red Bull display at the local liquor store.
Sadly, Where the Bright Lights Bloom, was billed as the Thieves last official release, but all may not be lost, Sam has recently hinted that he and his brother are playing together again and may get Jamie back into the fold. While we can hope that the world will not be long deprived of these guys' particular brand of melody-tinged garage rock, what we can do in the meantime is soak up their adrenaline charged output so far. Cruise on over to the good folks at www.cdbaby.com, peruse through the Thieves listing and check out Where the Bright Lights Bloom. You wont' be disappointed. As the boys say, "This is the closest sounding record to our live sound that we ever got. Turn it up loud!" Amen to that, my brothers, amen. --Racer X
If there were true justice in this crazy, mixed-up, muddled-up world we live in, The Thieves would be huge. I mean gargantuan. Bands like The Strokes and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs would be scrambling over themselves just to be their opening act. Jet and the Datsuns would be lowering their guitars in respect, bowing down at the Thieves altar, offering gifts and sacrifices for the opportunity to riff along with the masters. 
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