If We Can't Escape My Pretty

The IV Thieves used to be known as Nic Armstrong & the Thieves. They also used to be a cracking good British garage blues band and their debut, The Greatest White Liar, was an exciting and fun album. Now they a Brit-rock band in the mold of Oasis. Gone is the knife sharp Ian Watson production and the crisp, nervy tunes that both revived and updated the sound of early-'60s England. In their place is a slick arena rock sound. The reasons why Armstrong changed his sound and approach are unclear but at some point after the first record he decided his buddies in the Thieves (Glynn Wedgewood, Jonny Aitken and Shane Lawlor) needed to join in the writing process, and while it's sweet that he wanted to include his friends, that first album was so good Armstrong didn't really need any help. He could have repeated that album's formula a couple of times before it got stale. He also lets the fellas in the band take more vocals. A few of the songs here make a positive impression: "The Day Is a Downer" overcomes some cliched lyrics with a decent hook and a furious vocal from Armstrong, "Lay Me Back Down" is a nice ballad with good vocal harmonies, and "Catastrophe" is a half-decent moody rocker. The world doesn't need another Oasis, though; another album from Armstrong like The Greatest White Liar would have been just fine. ~ Tim Sendra