Whenever I hear the name Thieves Like Us, I think about New Order (this song, if you have Spotify), but from now on, all of this will probably change. Thieves Like Us is also the name of a band, – a trio -, where two thirds are from Sweden and one third is American. They met in Germany, but consider Paris, France their home.

Their debut album, “Play Music”, will be released on March 10th on Shelflife Records, which kind of surprises me. This is quite different than most other artists on the label, who’s roster consists of pop-bands like Burning Hearts, Language of Flowers, The Ruling Class, A Smile and a Ribbon, Days and other artists with strong POP melodies as their trademark.  Shelflife has released several records flirting with electronic pop earlier, like Kawaii, Champagne Riot and partly Kuryakin, but these have always had a sweetness and “niceness” to them, – pretty and with mostly happy melodies. Thieves Like Us definitely have the good melodies, but they show a darker side, – sometimes more experimental side of the label.
-You see it on the cover, you hear it in their lyrics, you hear it in their sound.

I find it really refreshing.

“Play Music” is a really good album, – varied, consistent and full of surprises, never boring. This is one that lasts.

There is more than the band’s name that reminds me of the 80s in TLU’s songs. On the song “Drugs in my body”, the vocals in the chorus remind me of Wire, the twangy guitars on the same song remind me of Tuxedomoon. There are  a lot of very early synth-pop/new wave references in the way some songs are sung, the analogue synths, the “riffs”… I hear Kraftwerk, I hear Gary Numan, I even hear old, old XTC. On “Miss You” we hear some delightful New Order/Pet Shop Boys-like rap-singing. Love it!

Check out these two songs, and buy the album from the Shelflife shop. At the moment, this is only avalable on vinyl LP, but CD will be available soon.

Thieves like us – Drugs in my body

Thieves like us – Your heart feels