Strapping themselves to a rocket bound for the rock universe, the debut album from Thieves of Liberty, Shangri-La, sees the collective land on various rock-genre planets in search of their own unique sound and space.
Finding themselves often in the realm of ‘hard rock’, ‘Shangri-La’ is a brutal album by the North-East based quarter. Spiky, riffy, and filled with serious destructive attitude, this is the work of serious artists taking serious time to perfect their craft. “It certainly was the case that some of us were perfectionists when we recorded the album” the Thieves laugh when we catch up “we wanted to make a real statement and sometimes you only get one chance to do that”.
Spread out over 9 tracks (12 if you include the 3 bonuses songs), Shangri-La certainly makes a statement; crushing 1990’s Sunset Strip riffs (“Shangi-La”), mixing with epic November Rain rock tales (“Luminescent Daydream”) and maxed out 90’s fm rock radio bangers (“Casual Tragedy”) in the true destination for classic rock greatness. Fresh, intense and full of original ideas and production, Shangri-La is an epic debut. “We wanted to do a few things with the record”, they confirm “we wanted to take our time and perfect our songs whilst making the record sound like these were fresh first or second takes and have the energy you can feel when they are played live. And the second was to record one of the greatest debut albums.” High stakes indeed.
Complete with epic album artwork and visuals, Shanri-La is a full visual and auditory piece of work; the art encapsulating the sound and vice versa. Limited edition signed albums, cased with the Thieves visuals, could well become collectibles if their impact does reach their desire. “The album work was also the work of perfectionists” they confirm when asked about the lengths they went to when making all of their work fit together “we had the songs and we wanted the right visuals to fit with what we wanted to say as well as something that could look cool as a tattoo”.
Previously released single, and blistering album opener, “Shangri-la” has already become a live favourite, and from a band known for their hyper live shows, the bands intent now is how to get out and promote the album; “we were still writing until right up to the end of recording, and we write and record in a way that’s very collaborative, so we’re in a great space as a band – both in how we play and how we are with each other. That feels like we’re already thinking about new music but more importantly we’re thinking about how to get out and play this live. We want to make a huge impact and we want people to hear what we’ve made”.
Two launch shows are already planned, The Independent in Sunderland (“we’ll play the album in full at that one”) and a gig in Manchester (“it feels like a real second home to us down there”), before the band think about future gigs and music. “We’ll do these gigs and then probably have a new single out before Christmas, but whatever happens we’re on a roll and we don’t want to stop”.