From The Vault: Nic Armstrong & The Thieves The Greatest White Liar

You definitely won't feel like you've been lied to after getting this album

As soon as the guitar riff of the opening track “I Can’t Stand It” comes frolicking in, there’s a definite feeling that this album is something different. Much like how the Strokes made it cool to be in love with 60’s and 70’s rock again, Nic Armstrong & The Thieves could very well do the same thing for 60’s blues-infused pop. That might sound like a bold statement, but take one listen to the following track, “Broken Mouth Blues” and soak in the incredibly Dylan-like structure, complete with a harmonica solo, and then you’ll see there might actually be some truth to that. Unlike many other bands from England, Nic Armstrong & The Thieves have manage to avoid a lot of the hype, and are still relatively tucked under the radar, which for them may very well be a good thing. Unlike many of the poser-rock groups, these guys honestly grew up listening to each and every one of the artists that they recall, and it shows through their music. The lyrics, while not revolutionary, are still solid and never leave you cringing, and there’s an overall strength in the band’s general philosophy of simplicity in terms of their instrumentation. In a time when such a large number of bands these days are so heavily layered, this is a welcoming approach that’s hard to criticize them for because it quite simply works. The uptempo songs do tend to outshine the slower songs, mainly because they’re so well crafted and the band appears to have a better ear for making their catchier rock music, as can be seen on the cover of Alvin Robinson’s “Down Home Girl,” “The Finishing Touch” and Chuck Berry’s “I Want to Be Your Driver.” Not all the slow tracks suffer to being outshined though, since both “In Your Arms On My Mind” and the mellow rocker “Too Long For Her” are well done. Though far from perfect, this is still quite a showing, particularly for a debut album and it should be readily appreciated by many here in the States once the word gets out.

★★★★☆