"With a wall of guitars punctuated against a mathematically tight rhythm section, RX EP shows a dark, menacing contrast compared to last year's outstanding True Believers in the Long Walk Home. For better or worse, these guys have yet to make the same album twice and probably never will, but as each release gets closer to a perfect post-rock outing, you can probably expect the unexpected on their next full-length." The Weekly Dig
"It has delicate, more introspective passages, but more often it's entirely unrestricted in whipping up the guitars and blazing out in a slightly distorted manner, recalling early ....Trail of Dead or even Dinosaur Jr., at a push. Keys also make the odd appearance, effectively backing up more accessible moments like The Octopus. To summarize, wonderfully nostalgic without being old hat. Heavier~Than~Air
“I Heard a Pin Snap Loose" - While Thick as Thieves is locally regaled for their mega-adventurous guitar rock, “I Heard a Pin” is a gorgeous little acoustic number putting due emphasis on the sweet tones of Tyler Littwin’s vocal. It’s hard to fathom a prettier song coming out of Boston this year." The Boston Phoenix
"GENRE: CLASSIC CLATTER. VERDICT: ROCKTIME DREAMLAND. There's nothing particularly cutting-edge about Thick As Thieves, and that's just the way it should be. The four talented bandmates have perfected a clattering steamroller of a CD, from the opener "First News From the Zephyr" to the well-composed "Mars Viglia" through to cinematic closer "There Were Sparrows," Their second full-length release carefully walks the line between making airtight grooves and falling apart completely. The guys are a literal bunch, too, with themes that speak beyond the regular-joe rock of booze, sex and more booze. True Believers ... makes us so. " Weekly Dig
"For every moment of hushed beauty here, like the gently plucked acoustics and heavy-hearted piano balladry of "Chemical Division," there's a counterbalancing blast of snarling, vampy rocking, countrified twang, or moody, electronic ambience. It's an impressively diverse sonic palate for the young Cambridge band, whose songs break
and crest on waves of sudden momentum shifts. "Mars Vigila" is the highlight: a rhythmically complex burst of chiming, ethereal elegy and melting guitar delay broken up by breast-beating, shouted catharsis. Through it all they maintain a surprising sense of melodic focus for a group stitching so many ideas into such a tightly woven whole." Boston Magazine
"There was hardly a damn thing wrong with THICK AS THIEVES’ auspicious debut, last year’s We Planted Driftwood and Nothing Changed, which smuggled bits of Television homage into a jarringly original post-punk presentation." The Boston Phoenix
"On the bands debut, Thick as Thieves write songs that, for all their appealing hooks and smooth vocals, are filled with doubt and ambivalence. The band often plays with a tense, suspenseful softness, seemingly holding back while containing its sound within a limited frame...the sound is arresting" Northeast Performer
"[Here's To Waking Up is] mellow ethereal road trip Americana with a beautifully tasteful production, and pedal steel" IAC (Independent Artists Company)
" ...the whole album feels more coherent than most major-label releases. Not many bands can vary their sound as effectively as from stellar rockers like “An Empire Sound” to delicate musical moments like “Telegraphs to Spitfire.” Plus, their lyrics are gorgeous and evocative" Avoid Peril
"Although an average track length under four minutes isn’t usually the mark of what would be described as epic, these compositions are certainly worthy of the label. The group seamlessly transitions between numerous musical themes creating dynamic soundscapes and an engrossing musical experience " The Philler
"That is something that we can never do...if that hits somebody, if that goes through our freakin' wall...never again...never again" Club Owner (who put Aaron in a headlock)
Influences
Growing affluence & diminishing soul, socially acceptable alcohol consumption, misleading romantic literature, teenage arrogance, a collective failure to mature, and a love for noise.
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WBCN: Boston Emissions
617-746-1400
WFNX: New England Product
Sundays 10-11pm
781-595-9369
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Sounds Like
Summer harmonies, late nights, heavy amps, blood-sweat-and-splinters, lost causes, new hopes, blurry eyes, teenage wastelands, cooling breezes, fear in a handful of dust, and rock and roll.
Volume 1: We Planted Driftwood And Nothing Changed
Next to the ocean things seemed better: clearer skies and faster cars and late night parties. Later on, it seemed almost surreal that it had even happened at all.
Volume 2: True Believers In The Long Walk Home
There was a great deal of leaving and wandering and in the fall, there was dust on the tree trunks next to the main road. They left on the first available ticket.
Volume 3: RX EP
Being so far away from the soil of their homeland was difficult to say the least. After the bars and cafes and weekend trips to the coast, there was very little to cling on to. But there was always another round of drinks with friends of friends at some new place where someone knew someone and the people were talkative. This could be a good show.
THICK AS THIEVES is a band, writing collective, and musical cult.
Aaron Benson plays guitar, bass, and sings Mike Cotter plays drums and sings Kellen Kleinfelter plays bass, guitar, and sings Tyler Littwin plays guitar, keys, and sings
Three quarters of the band grew up in the midwest, on wide expanses of cornfields or in open fields next to the frozen lake. They migrated to an East Coast city where educated collegiate drunks and musical bohemians crowded onto T cars and into dark bars. During a long night in 2004, they met a Mass native who had also come from a small town in a big valley. The four wrote music and collected ideas and assembled songs in deep basements and quiet bedrooms. Time slipped by and there were two full-length albums out: they were full of noise and beauty and sharp words and strange mornings. It sounded like rock and roll music.
Thick As Thieves' third release is the four song RX EP which was written during the fall and winter of 2008.
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hey! i'm participating in this year's Light the Night walk, a charity walk that supports the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS). this year i'll be on the Jack's Mannequin team, & it is my personal goal to raise $1,000!
please consider sponsoring me in the walk - you don't have to donate much..even just $5 will help me out so much. this cause is very close to my heart so i would appreciate any effort you make! (you can donate here: http://pages.lightthenight.org/ma/BostonL09/lisaczech )
thanks so much for even taking the time to read this, and i hope that you donate or take part in your local Light the Night walk!
<3 lisa
i'm booking photo shoots for the summer so if you guys need any promos or anything let me know! e-mail me and i'll send you a price list. lisaczechphotography@gmail.com
here
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