The new album from Northeast UK band Thieves of Liberty is a sweeping, nostalgic, and dreamy rock album that is made for radio play. The album contains a mixture of modern rock songs as well as songs that draw heavy inspiration from the great rock bands of the 80s who songs were equal parts showmanship and storytelling.
The album opens with the stadium-centric anthem Shangri-La which is reminiscent of the great 80s rock band songs of Guns N Roses, Def Leppard, and Poison. By the dreamy, sweeping title song it is evident that the album consists of the band’s creativity and their blood, sweat, and tears. The second notable song on the album Sick Pup is a slick and cheeky nod to the fist pumping songs of 80s rock, with a modern, gritty twist.
Cherry Queen is the band’s dirty rock jam that drips with sweat and sex, with line such as “A chemical rush, when she’s giving it up”. Which sounds like a modern version of Warrant’s Cherry Pie and Def Leppard’s Pour Some Sugar On Me. Though the song may seem superficial compared to the balladry of the other songs on the album, it fits perfectly in the genre of rock songs that praise and pine over female vixens.
Casual Tragedy is reminiscent of Queen’s Bohemian Rapsody where the band members voices blend excellently together in a chorus of brotherhood and rock. The song is a moody and exciting trip into the consciousness of the band and features a blasting, powerful sax solo. The opulent and glittering rock anthem Caviar and Diamonds is the band’s glitter and gold cautionary tale with a bit of excess thrown in for good measure. The anthem could easily sit nicely on a playlist of rock anthems of yesterday and today, and the song is one of the band’s most polished songs on the album.
Thieves of Liberty’s Shangri-La is a polished, well-constructed album of rock anthems that deserve radio play and acknowledgement from the rock community. Their music is reminiscent of great rock ballads and bands of the past, and their songwriting technique and showmanship are destined for the stage and a following.
Shangri-La is sleeker and more creative than the band’s 2022 album Home Again and contains songs that are destined to become earworms and rock favorites.
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Article By James Reeves
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