INTERVIEW: Thieves of Liberty

Strapping themselves to a rocket bound for the rock universe, the debut album from Thieves of Liberty, Shangri-La, sees the Sunderland 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 quintet. Spiky, riffy and filled with destructive attitude, this is the work of serious artists taking considered time to perfect their craft. “It certainly was the case that some of us were perfectionists when we recorded the album,” the band 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 12 tracks, Shangri-La certainly makes a statement; from the crushing 1990’s Sunset Strip riffs of the title track, to the epic November Rain rock tale of Luminescent Daydream and the maxed-out 90’s FM rock radio banger Casual Tragedy, the album provides a 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 we wanted to record one of the greatest debut albums.” High stakes indeed.

we wanted to make a real statement and sometimes you only get one chance to do that

Complete with epic album artwork and visuals, Shangri-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 of Liberty visuals, could well become collectibles if their impact does reach their desire. “The album artwork 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, their 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.”

A launch show at Independent in Sunderland on Friday 15^th November will see the band play the album in full, and will provide further momentum for their no doubt epic future. “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.”

Thieves of Liberty release Shangri-La on Friday 15^th November.