Liar Thief Bandit shine on Diamonds

Liar Thief Bandit are a Swedish power trio who, in their own words, “blend the melodic essence that helped shape the ‘70s and the raw garage revival of the late ‘90s with a modern touch of uplifting lyrics and undeniable energy.” Their fourth album, Diamonds, comprises six original tracks and a cover of Graveyard’s ‘Ain’t Fit to Live Here’ and neatly gathers together the band’s critically acclaimed singles that have already been released.

Having loved the Graveyard song and Hisinger Blues (the 2011 album it appeared on), I was a little tentative as I pressed play… they actually do a first rate job and remain faithful but add a few personal flourishes to make the song their own. The originals are rather good too with tracks such as ‘Diamonds (Are Made Under Pressure)’ which brings heavy pop/melodic/rock together to provide a chance to join in on the chorus and on air guitar too. ‘The Art of Losing Battles’ brings a touch of Stooges-y punk into the rock framework; ‘Better Days’ is a joyous treat from the stable of Thin Lizzy; ‘Harm Reduction’ combines a sort of Priest meets Leppard structure that works well; ‘Send Me Home’ has a prog touch with a simply brilliant bass line and lyrics that are worth listening to… ”six degrees of desperation” is one example of a grasp of English word-smithery that puts many writers in their first language to shame. 

This trio (Mikael Jacobson – Guitar / Vocals William Grube – Drums and Niklas Dahre – Bass) manage to wear their influences on their sleeves while always being fresh and original and deliver some radio friendly anthems with a bite of out-and-out rock.

Diamonds is out on September 16th.