A Visceral Lyrical Dissection of Nothing but Thieves’ Discography
For the un-inducted amongst us, UK based rock band Nothing But Thieves are the pinnacle of rock today. Yes I said it, SUE ME. Using this genre as a foundation, they’ve built a playground of musical experimentation over the top, with their fourth album Dead Club City chiming in as the latest addition to the record cabinet.
The decision to turn Dead Club City into a fully immersive dystopian listening experience, with its own all-encompassing visual world, felt like the completely appropriate and natural next chapter for a band that has built such a cohesive discography to date - with Dead Club City Deluxe having just dropped. Nothing But Thieves’ entire bank of music is nothing short of triumphant, with the band having formed in 2012 they have since evolved their sound organically through 4 albums and 5 EPs. Stellar instrumental arrangement and production, gut-wrenching guitar riffs, and apt lyrics have remained a constant throughout their music thus far.
To give you an idea of their musical evolution I’ve assigned each album the following superlatives -
Nothing But Thieves (debut album): the erratic, sex, drugs and rock + roll one anchored by hints of deep pain
Broken Machine: the detrimentally-hyper-aware, apologetically melancholic, aggressively blue one
Moral Panic: the Greta Thunberg, activist, advocate for all that is good and true, existential crisis one
Dead Club City: the done-up-to-the-nines, hot mess, lives for the night, shiny but bruised one
A chaotic group of records at a glance, yet at a listen they interlink seamlessly. Nothing But Thieves’ sound has definitely brushed on the cusp of multiple genres in their time on the scene; with Dead Club City, as a whole album/ entity, feeling like a new blessed blend of rock and disco. The album’s title track “Dead Club City” feels like a breath of fresh air for the band, as they keep their common lyrical threads taught, they also skillfully inject a new musical bounce and energy to the record that we haven’t heard from them before. Among the gritty lyrical garden of their album predecessor Moral Panic, the seeds for Dead Club City were planted, signalling a distinct narrative shift for the band that is mirrored in the experimental sound throughout the rest of the album.
Now, there are so so many ways in which we could dissect this masterpiece of a discography, but today, in true literary spirit, we’re taking a deep dive into the lyrical genius that narrates the world of Nothing But Thieves.
Their lyrical themes have consisted and continue to consist of the following (non-exhaustive) list, to name but a few:
the impossibility of love
balancing the painful and apologetic experience of mental illness
the banality of human existence
the glaring, ever-gaping class divide
a refreshingly all-consuming-yet-comforting acceptance of death (and what comes after?)
the deep yearn for change
dissociation from the body and mind
despite everything,, perseverance + humbling self-awareness and self-belief
the doomed age of the internet
rejection of religion in the traditional sense/ acknowledgement of the contemporary ‘religion’ of fame/ fortune
fuck you ‘Great’ Britain
that kind of edgy all-consuming push/ pull toxic lust
we’re all machines
‘heaven’ in every sense of the word
chaos here there and everywhere
feeling every feeling to the deepest depths possible
how to heal?
the world is on fire wake up x
While I could delve into these lyrics with you forever, and host a TED talk on why this is some of the most topically relevant music today - We’ll pick a few of the strongest themes to walk through today (and tomorrow if you still want more, drop me a line and we can chat x).
POLITICS::
In a clever political bridge to the title track “Dead Club City”, we see “This Feels Like The End” off of Moral Panic unfold as a point blank and catchy commentary on the chaos that the world has evolved to become “right before [our] eyes”. Through the line “There’s still more upturned dinghies in the sea”, NBT paints the stark reality of the Conservative Party’s inhumane ‘Stop the Boats’ campaign and their harrowing stance on immigration, as unapologetically and plainly as possible and takes the words right out of my mouth, “can you believe what we are seeing?”. These injections of political discourse, spotlight the UK government’s disastrous attempt after attempt at being a ‘world leading’ country (whatever that even means at this point), creating an intentional discomfort that I can only assume is done to give us an uncomfortable sense of perspective.
“Reset Me” off of 2nd album Broken Machine again calls out the UK’s mistreatment of immigrants in the name of ‘upholding’ the “British way of life”, to quote *national embarrassment and opponent to humanity* Suella Braverman. It also arguably references Britain’s shameful colonial past (and present) - “red and white and blue, we’ll look after you, cause we know what’s best”. Building from these themes, “Tomorrow is Closed” off of Dead Club City captures Nothing But Thieves’ political stance under the guise of an existential crisis, as well as referencing the “dirty English skies” and “everlasting summer” we seem to be painstakingly waltzing into.
In addition to these tracks, Moral Panic as an entire album doubles up as a comforting pat-on-the-back and relatable outlet for those struggling to keep up with the uncertainty of today’s world and political climate.
RELIGION::
A revamped idea of what ‘God’ means in today’s day and age is a constant motif that pops up through the course of the NBT discography. Through tunes like “Gods”, “Do You Love Me Yet?” and “Oh No :: He Said What?”, fresh off of Dead Club City Deluxe, it’s clear that the assigned definition of a ‘God’ in the NBT universe is any public figure; Be it politicians, celebrities, news anchors, etc. Anyone who can influence you and whom you can “worship” via the “cloud” or “television” is, by NBT definition, a ‘God’.
This flipped-narrative concept was planted early on in the band’s existence. In “Graveyard Whistling” off of first EP Graveyard Whistling the line “All your Gods are false, just get used to it” first renounces the traditional idea of a ‘God’ and establishes the overturned NBT view on traditional religion. References to the corrupt-elite-type ‘Gods’ grow through each album, projecting directly into their recent tune “Oh No :: He Said What?”: ”You know it always ends the same, Honesty’s a losing game, It died a long long time ago with your favourite God” - A disappointing sign of the times that those in power haven’t improved at all in a decade since the release of Graveyard Whistling. Well, at least we have some catchy tunes to sing to while we stew in anger!!!!
Emblematic of the chronically online culture we’ve developed for ourselves, NBT likens the importance we’ve assigned to fame and fortune as “the next religion” through a point-blank comparison to traditional religion in “Take This Lonely Heart” and “Gods”, off of 4-track EP What did you think when you made me this way? i Citing the danger of “worship[ing] the things that we don’t quite understand” in “Take This Lonely Heart”, NBT issues a warning of this ‘new religion’ and offers a relatable shout into the void that we just “can’t ignore”.
THE INTERNET::
In the recent single “Oh No :: He Said What?”, we visit a familiar common thought that occurs in us all whenever any of the so-called ‘world leaders’ say literally anything. The tune is a classic NBT mesh of politics, religion, and technology. One line in particular felt especially poignant when it comes to illustrating the band’s attitudes towards the internet - “Dance to the rhythm, my algorithm, we’ll make a killing, never stop”, a lyric that leans right into the rife discourse around social media, influencers, and the never-ending barrage of *trendy dance moves* that permeate our screens.
Simply put in “Phobia” off of Moral Panic, Nothing But Thieves “fucking hate the internet”. Mirroring the state of dissociation we can feel in the online world we live in, “Phobia” paints a wide-eyed, glaring picture of a life of excess in a world full of constant turmoil - The jolty pacing and syncopated guitar, bass and drums reflect the clunky mindset of the protagonist of the song and adds a whole other layer of addictive discomfort and immersion for the listener. The song gets progressively more chaotic as the protagonist loses more and more hope and dissolves into a state of rage-induced madness - With the stream-of-consciousness lyrics flicking erratically between thoughts of ‘the internet is the worst’, ‘let me have a drink/ drugs to numb the rage’, ‘but i think I’m going too numb’, ‘i need some help’, ‘a lavish life doesn’t help’, ‘i want to heal but don’t know how’, ‘need another drink’, ‘*ping of phone*’, ‘i hate the fucking internet’’.
Summing it up by throwing it back to the band’s self-titled first album and zooming in on our doomed dependance on the wifi connection, the classic tune “Trip Switch”, puts the money question uncomfortably front and centre, “What do we do when the power’s out?” - A question to which I, for one, really don’t want to know the answer.
LOVE::
NBT truly leaves no stone unturned in their exploration of lyrical themes, ensuring each concept is felt from the inside out a thousand times over. And it feels fresh every time. The same goes for their love songs.
A truly gut-wrenching track for the heartbroken amongst us, “Particles” off of Broken Machine vocalises everything you’ve ever wanted to say if you’ve experienced the devastation of simultaneously struggling to balance your outer self with your inner self in pursuit of retaining love; With the song sharing this sentiment through the lens of addiction - “If I need to rearrange my particles, I will for you”. Wouldn’t recommend listening to this while staring out the window into the distance while it rains xx (don’t say I didn’t warn you). This desperate attempt to ‘fix’ oneself for another carries through tracks like “Drawing Pins”, “Sorry”, and “Six Billion”. Point being, NBT do melancholic, tender love songs exquisitely. The 2014 classic “Lover, Please Stay” is a perfect distillation of this, featuring front man Conor Mason’s hauntingly tender vocals reciting a vivid story of the protagonist imploring their love to “take from [him], whatever you want, whatever you need” and to just please stay.
However, “Foreign Language” off of Dead Club City offers a new sort of ‘resolution’ to the above feelings, demonstrating a fresh acceptance of love which welcomes the mundane quirks of a relationship and the attitude that being on the “same road, just different directions” can serve as a highlight rather than hindrance of a connection. This is a narrative we haven’t heard much from NBT, but is most definitely welcomed as a fond addition to our theme list nonetheless. “Green Eyes :: Siena”, also fresh off of Dead Club City, further signifies the band’s narrative shift, as it tells a stunning ode to a deep love lost. This song taps into the slow and subtle contentment of being in love, with a note of holding onto hope to wash the sentiment down (you’re welcome for the tears in advance <3).
All in all, Nothing But Thieves have crafted a perfect lyrical minefield with an epiphany or relatable feeling at every turn, underpinned by musical mastery. If I had retained any descriptive musical terminology from my school days you’d be in for a whole thesis on this incredible band - so be glad I’ve forgotten it all or we’d be here for-literally-ever and ever and more (iykyk).
GO LISTEN NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
To close it out - my honourable mentions for this entire artwork of sound thus far are:
Number 13 - for being a SEXY TUNE
Itch - for being my gateway NBT song in 2014
Tempt You (evocatio) - for being a special song and getting me through hard times
City Haunts - for by proxy annoying the shit out of my neighbours when I regurgitate the falsetto in the shower
Reset Me - for being a relatable banger and verbalising all my thoughts
Is everybody going crazy? + This feels like the end = tied for saying what everyone is thinking
Miracle Baby - for mentally transporting me to LA while on my morning commute on the grimy Central Line
BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge cover of Wings by Birdy - for showing ✨range✨
Something on my mind - for just being an absolute belter
Images via: @nothingbutthieves on Instagram