Nothing But Thieves - Moral Panic

Last week Nothing But Thieves released their third album Moral Panic, as a big fan of this band and their previous albums I was anxious to hear this one. I had loved all of the singles leading up to the album and had been raving to anyone I know about this album.

The start of the album is really strong, Unperson was probably my least favourite single going into the album, however here it really works well. It sets the tone of ‘Moral Panic’ really well. The chorus is great and I like that with this song and throughout the album the band have been a bit more experimental with their music. On Unperson it shows with the guitar work more, and overall I think it’s really effective and a great start to the album.

The next song ‘Is Everybody Going Crazy?’ Was the first single we got to hear back in March, and it’s a classic Nothing But Thieves sounding song. It sounds like it could have fit on the ‘What Did You Think When You Made Me This Way?’ EP that was released in 2018, but I really like how it fits on this album too. The whole band sound great on this song and it really proves that they are a band of good musicians, I find it hard to fault them.

I really enjoyed the start of the song Moral Panic, I like the finger style electric guitar we hear on top of the vocals that help the build up. There are some more electronic sounds on this song which are different for the band, but with the guitars on top it works well. The only thing I wished about this song is that we got more. The build up is great and it seems like the song is going to burst at the end, but it doesn’t or at least not as much as I want it to. It’s an enjoyable song but I just want a bit more from it, because I know the band can do that. I feel like I’m waiting for something else to happen.

Real Love Song was one of my favourite singles going into this album, it still holds up to me as one of my favourites. The chorus is euphoric and makes up for the lack of that feeling on Moral Panic. If you want to read my full review of Real Love Song, I wrote a quick piece when the song came out, I will link it at the end of this post.

'Phobia' has an intriguing start, I like the build up (and if you haven’t guessed by now, that’s something I really enjoy about these type of songs…). The jarring guitars work more as the song goes on, and the song gets more powerful as it goes on, I especially like the last chorus. Even if the ending is predictable, it works well. This is a song that has grown on me more with more listens to it.

The next song, 'This Feels Like The End' is a song I love straight away, the vocals and lyrics captivated me and the chorus here is more of what I’ve wanted and been waiting for. There are some great layers of guitars here. I really like the texture they added with the spoken word samples too. The chorus is strong and I think the ending is great. You can tell that the band have tried to experiment more on this album and overall it sounds more cohesive than the other two albums.

‘Free If We Want It’ is a song that I like instantly, and probably the song I’ve gone back to the most other than the singles since it’s release. It has a good tone and when the drums hit the feeling you get is great, that euphoria we’ve been chasing over the last few songs. Vocals sound amazing here, as they always do. Connor Mason is another of those vocalists I find hard to fault, an instantly recognisable voice that adds pure emotion to the bands songs. The lyrics on this song also stand out to me, and hit home with the theme that they are going for with this album.

From that into ‘Impossible’ is incredible, ‘Impossible’ being my other favourite single going into the album, having listened to it a lot in the last few weeks. I absolutely love it, everything about it. The euphoric feeling from the chorus, the vocals, the guitars and the strong rhythm section. It really hits the heart. You can hear the desperation in the vocals clearly, and with the backing vocals that really helps drive it home. The music video for this song is also incredible to watch, so I recommend you guys watch that too.

‘There Was Sun’ has an interesting start, it’s another different thing for them. It almost has a dance-y feel with the beat in the chorus. It’s presented in a rock outfit though that makes it a Nothing But Thieves song. I think this song will grow on me more over time, though I really enjoyed the last chorus and the last minute or so of the song before the fade.

‘Can You Afford To Be An Individual?’ Is more of their classic sound we’ve come to expect from the band. The drums here are strong too and the build up in the middle of the song is great. The second half of the song is desperate and full of anger, it’s strong and it really stands out on the album. It’s the kind of song you were expecting to hear on an album called ‘Moral Panic’. It’s one of the stand out tracks for me.

The last song on the album, ‘Before We Drift Away’ is a great ending for the album, the guitars at the start are good and the vocals here are great again. I enjoy the lyrics on this song too, it’s a song that builds up and leave the themes of the album out in the open for us to think about as the album ends. This is another of my stand out tracks for the album too.

Overall I think the album is great and think I will come to love it more over time, it’s definitely an album that grows on you with more listens so don’t disregard it straight away if you weren’t sure about it. It has some really great songs on it that will stick in your head for days.

My favourite songs: Is Everybody Going Crazy?, Real Love Song, This Feels Like The End, Free If We Want It, Impossible, Can You Afford To Be An Individual?, Before We Drift Away.

Thank you for reading, be sure to give the album a listen as it’s definitely worth your time, and if you haven’t heard the bands previous albums then please go back and listen to them too. Nothing But Thieves are definitely one of the best rock bands out there at the moment and continue to release great music.