Nothing But Thieves: Welcome To the Club
It’s Nothing But Thieves’ world and we’re just living in it.
Ahead of their May show at Hindley St Music Hall, frontman Conor Mason welcomes us into the Dystopic universe they designed for their runaway fourth album, Dead Club City.
Words by Zara Richards | Image by Michelle Janssen
“Welcome to the DCC, Dead Club City / You can live your perfect life,” soars Conor Mason’s vocals on the opening track of Nothing But Thieves’ critically-acclaimed fourth album, Dead Club City.
It’s a glittery invitation into the dystopic, members-only club the Essex alt-rockers created as a backdrop for their last LP – a place where fame, success and money make the world go round.
A reflection of our current setting? Perhaps. Nothing But Thieves aren’t scared to use the fallout of our societal structure as lyrical fodder. Politics, religion, mental health, fear-driven capitalism and the pressures of modernity are all topics reflected in the band’s second and third albums, Broken Machine and Moral Panic. But when it came to building their fourth record, best mates Dominic Craik, Joe Langridge-Brown, Philip Blake, James Price and Conor found themselves in a rut.
“We couldn’t get off the Moral Panic train,” explains Conor over Zoom. “We were writing in that headspace because the situation of the world was the same thing. We felt like we were churning out the same anger and writing about the same political turmoil that we were dealing with.”
Developing a concept album became a practical way of turning the band’s music-making crisis on its head. “It was this light bulb moment for us,” he says. “The floodgates opened, and suddenly it was just pangs of creative explosions and excitement and ideas. And we were able to push the envelope with what we did musically because it was a concept.”
Themes of unity, internet culture and ageing are explored through different viewpoints of members in the Dead Club City, woven with wider commentary on the music industry, advertising and escapism. It’s a nuanced world but one that’s purposefully hard to define. It’s up to you to decipher meaning from the narrative-driven record and ultimately decide if you’d stay in the elitist world or leave.
The five-piece swapped their usual recording session in L.A. for an immersive stint at Kyoto Studios in Essex. It was also the first time guitarist Dom operated under the title of producer. Conor’s transparent in how this afforded them more time and cash, two things he says further fuelled experimentation. “You have about five or six weeks max [in L.A.] because you’re working with great but super expensive producers,” he explains. “And as brilliant as that is, it was this race against time. You put stuff down, and that’s it.
“[Self-producing] allowed us to have five months to experiment. There was freedom in having that amount of time and working with your best mate. And because we work well together, there’s no dictatorship or hierarchy. You can be honest.”
Freedom led to confidence, which led to the band’s first #1 album in the UK charts. Dead Club City is unrestrained in where it pulls sounds from: there’s ’80s disco, RnB, funk, experimental synths and the non-conforming, rebellious rock-pop approach we’ve come to love from Nothing But Thieves. However, no song feels out of place or overdone. Instead, subtle motifs move listeners seamlessly through the album until its crunchy closer, ‘Pop The Balloon’. “Blow up the moon / Pop the balloon / Do it for you / Kill the Dead Club City,” Conor deadpans on the track. And kill it he does, bringing the album to a dramatic close.
We thought Nothing But Thieves had rolled the credits on the Dead Club City. However, that changed when the outfit dropped the deluxe edition of the record in March with three new songs. One of these is ‘Oh No :: He Said What?’, a track that draws us back into the dystopic universe post-Dead Club City collapse – something Conor says gives the complete body of work a “rising from the ashes” edge.
With Dead Club City out in full, Nothing But Thieves are back Down Under for a headline tour this month – just a year since their last string of shows. After seven years playing here, Australia feels like a second home for the British band: “I say it a lot, it’s my favourite place to tour,” confesses Conor. “There’s a natural rhythm and similarity – you’re our more light-hearted, outgoing cousins. I just know an Aus gig is going to be outrageous. Everyone we’ve ever played to is up for a laugh and up for a good time, and that’s such a great thing as a frontman – and as a band – to step on stage and know.”
Post world tour, Conor says the band aren’t shying away from this new era of sound: a noise that’s urgent, experimental and insightful. According to him, Nothing But Thieves have never felt more at peace with their craft.
“It’s about that thing where it’s an amalgamation of different parts and our craft becoming the next tier,” he says. “We’re still learning and still working, [and] like to think we’re going to get better and better. I’m pretty determined. I’ve never felt more excited and exhilarated to write another record. I feel like we’ve got so much more to explore. It’s the best we’ve ever been.”
See Nothing But Thieves at Hindley St Music Hall this May 7, supported by The Moving Stills. Buy tickets here.
