London based rockers, Night Thieves, began life as a trio and released their debut EP Battle Cry to widespread approval. Their second EP Spiral garnered even more attention and led to comparisons with acts such as Biffy Clyro, Spiritbox and Royal Blood to name just a few.
Complimentary as those comparisons are, I think it risks ignoring their originality and cleverly constructed songs that range from heavy, metallic, operatic, symphonic, and clever pop mash-ups. This hefty riffing is always leavened by Jess Moyle’s melodic and wide-ranging vocals. She can put more emotion into one line than some singers can do in a whole song… witness the opening track ‘Collide’ from the latest EP, Polarity for an example.
She does the same excellent job on the less frantic but still powerful ‘The Way The Story Goes’. There’s also a touch of almost pop but with a serious bite and a heavy riff to ‘Through The Looking Glass’ that ensures it stays on the right side of quality rock.
The record’s last track, ‘Walkaway’ stays heavy, melodic, catchy as a catchy thing and has a chorus that some would call an earworm, with Jess singing her heart out yet again, Me?, I call it aural sex!
Four songs, none of which break the four-minute barrier, just leave you wanting so much more… more solos, more bass and there’s some great work from both guitarists. This is a rewarding listen regardless of which of rock’s blurred genres you subscribe to.
Polarity is released on 19th January
