Accident(s)

by: Tim Wardyn

Dreams and nightmares are the two biggest influences for Sneaky Thieves, and it's no surprise that they are also the biggest themes on their debut "Accident(s)." The atmospheric overtones and light vocals carrying lyrics with gravity sound very reminiscent of Death Cab for Cutie, but Sneaky Thieves make an album that is even better than anything Death Cab has done.

"With a Smile in a Suit" could easily be an outtake off of Death Cab's "Plans" (as could the beautifully tranquil "Quiet"), with lyrics that sound more like Nick Cave with the opening line "Do you have a heart still beating?"

"Old Tired Joke" is a bitter ode about feeling like "an old tired joke to you." That's followed by "My father says 'I love you'/ My mother says 'I need you'/ I need you like I need a sharp stick in the eye/ This is where you turn your head/ And scream." Lyrically, this album is just as gothic as that line, but it is impossible to stop listening.

"Accident(s)" is full of highlights, such as the piano ballad "Across the Field" and the wake-you-in-the-middle-of-the-night "Perfect" which was written after lead singer Freddy Bale's nightmare while sleeping in his dead uncle's bedroom while "I hear you calling in the night/ Though you're still a ghost to me/ I feel your fingers at my throat/ Though I'm not afraid to sleep."

Even though Sneaky Thieves sound a little like several different artists, the melding of the sounds creates something completely unique, haunting, sincere and addictive. There is not a single weak track on this album. Sneaky Thieves could (and should) end up being a band like Death Cab, where word of mouth brings them into prominence and then one of the major labels picks them up and brings them what they deserve: World wide recognition.