Nothing But Thieves Throws Down a Massively Effective Wake Up Call

Nothing But Thieves relies heavily on the bass of Philip Blake to propel "Wake Up Call" to dizzying levels of melodic grandeur. The chewy goodness permeates throughout this effort. Of course you don't far from first gear if you don't have an ace in the hole drummer inching you along. Enter James Price whose way with sticks staggers the imagination. In fact he and Philip play off each other's sense of rhythms ideally. Lots of juice flowing and what a wonder it is to behold. You throw in Joe Landgridge-Brown on lead guitar and the recipe for British rock brought to the dining room piping hot comes into big league focus. "Wake Up Call" itself pertains to the wake up call you don't get from life when it appears all you're doing is burning up daylight, wasting precious energy much better used on grand pursuit of one kind or another. Barreling through best describes the song tempo. Kind of like the race for the wake-up call that never really arrives in the manner in which we'd like. A chord predominates and what an effective use of that chord it turns out to be. Desperation hasn't set in but it looks like vocalist Conor Mason has placed it in just around the corner status. His voice gives off a workmanlike shimmer that's employed to marvelous effect. Also, one hears a definite crooning element giving away the passion in his message. And that would be my cue to let you all in on what the message conveys exactly. To the lyric lab, pals o' mine!! Conor expounds on how our hearts are not wireless. Plus Conor has no intention of slowing down and fading out. Many rock stars follow the exact same plotline to sometimes tragic results. "Sometimes we never get started. No one will give you a wake up call." Too true. We often have to be our own alarm clock if we ever expect to obtain greatness or something resembling it. When the chords do shift the drama of "Wake Up Call" claims a slice of greatness for itself. Skin bashing from Mr. Price can be the infection you don't want a fast cure for. Mr. Vernon's pipes hit that sweet spot when the titular refrain comes bursting through his lips. In the video he strikes the cosmopolitan pose in blue suit and ratcheted up attitude. Seeking but never making contact with what he really is after on this planet. The bridge affords Joe room to flex his capable muscle and make his instrument meld gracefully amidst the confusion. Guitar doesn't have to strike a macho pose in order to be at peak effectiveness. Joe kept that in mind and the outcome really demonstrates he's learned from any past mistakes he's guilty of. "Wake Up Call" is a quick entree bite at the musical buffet table. No longer than three minutes, four seconds. Economy of sentiment isn't always a bad thing. At least the guys make it count. No nook is left wanting in the atmospherics department. No accessible hook goes without being snatched successfully. As a total package "Wake Up Call" is the right psychological alarm system at the right time. We should all be so fortunate as to have a high caliber bunch such as Nothing But Thieves helping us get with the program.