Sneaky Thieves
Accident(s)
Other Electricities
The liner notes to Sneaky Thieves’ Accident(s) contain a declaration that the band takes credit for writing all the good songs and blames “someone else” for the bad ones. The band needs to track down whoever it is penning these weak tracks, because they’ve left scuff marks all over a decent album. Of the handful of pleasant listening experiences found on this disc, “With a Smile in Suit” and “The Din” come off as the best. There’s something in band’s prog-lite/AM Gold hybridization on these tracks that recalls Midlake and the great Fleetwood Mac. Where the group falters is when they swap the classic ’70s vibe for the bland sonic pallet of contemporary Brit-rock –the strum pattern, even the general mood of “The Quiet” feels like a lesser version of The Verve’s “Lucky Man.” Even worse is when singer Freddy Bale adopts the played-out whining/singing style of Thom Yorke that has nothing to offer on songs like “Old Tired Joke” than an ad nauseam refrain of “you turn your head.” Hopefully, because this is the band’s first album, we can expect the kinks to be ironed out when writing material for the follow-up. Or rather, The Kinks ironed in and Radiohead ironed out.
Other Electricities: http://www.other-electricities.com
