rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
The IV Thieves’ much anticipated debut album If We Can’t Escape My Pretty is like listening to ‘50s and ‘60s Britpop making a delightful deal with the devil. The record, produced by Chris “Frenchie” Smith of Austin’s The Bubble recording studio and mixed by UK’s Chris Sheldon (Pixies, Radiohead), is a sonic palette of soul-drenched vocals, unforgiving guitars and wickedly powerful drums all melding together to create fervently enticing melodies.
Comprised of Nottingham, England natives (and recent Austin transplants) Nic Armstrong, Johnny Aitken, Shane Lawlor and Glynn Wedgewood, the band offers three equally talented songwriters who have generated a rich tableau of whirlwind imagery in heartache and resolution. First track single “You Can’t Love What You Don’t Understand” is an exhilarating pop-rock excursion with a to-hell-with-you attitude, while “The Sound and The Fury” serves up Ravonettes-esque haunted rock, conjuring visions of raucous nightlife. The record comes full circle with “Chase Me Off/Out,” a poetic recall in tinkering piano and melancholy harmonies. Be on the lookout for If We Can’t Escape My Pretty, a debut certainly worth noting.
- larissa quon
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