Standing within the box that is the Kansas City music scene, Thieves seem to have gotten a little lost. Coming from nowhere, they’re suddenly everywhere, earning their role in a complicated and sometimes closed-minded blue collar music city. However, it is important to make it perfectly clear that sometimes being lost here isn’t always a bad thing. It seems to me that if anything, this group of guys finds itself ahead of the curve, leaving behind a scene three to five years behind the national trend, which hangs its hat on the fame of The Get Up Kids. While the godfathers of the modern emo movement have earned and deserve our praise, the time has come to reestablish and rebuild our struggling scene. I have little doubt that this could be the band to do it. 
One would swear when spinning their new disc, Dividers, released Saturday, November 5 at the Record Bar, that the sounds spilling from the speakers surely must be a previously established, national act. While half the credit of this must go to the production values of Ryan Cork and The Punch at Premier studio in Lenexa, Kansas, the band’s polished, atmospheric tendencies offer entertainment by themselves.
Take “Swan Song,” Divider’s opening cut, for example. Ticky-tack electronic drums skip down a path towards a haunting guitar and vocal combo that would make even Mars Volta proud. Blended in a way that makes the band appear to be a united force, rather than a group of individuals caught up in guarding their images and defined roles, the album’s first track sets the tone for this epic, flowing journey into a musical conversation with Thieves. It’s pretty clear, they have something to say. They’re not just vocal and guitar solos. They are their message.
“In House. In Host,” the album’s second cut, it escalates the intensity of Divider a touch. With a fist pumping fury and an air raid feel, Thieves scream, “I try to fight it but the devil is breaking down the door,” over pounding drums and muted guitar. If for no other reason, this song’s ability to condition the listener to adopt the semblance and spirit of the song is breathtaking and worth the listen.
From power struggle to power ballet, the album’s third cut, “While You Were Sleeping,” is at its best if listened to through headphones. The listener’s ability to pick up every casual drum beat and urgent radio transmission is imperative. The calm piano introduction and soft vocals remind me of something one might find on The Virgin Suicide soundtrack alongside any number of Air tracks. I also find it without a doubt to be the strongest track on the album and one of the best local tracks of 2009.
Skipping over the very pretty musical track in “Transit,” Divider’s fifth and sixth tracks “Mecca” and “E. 130″ sport a very European style signature which cohesively constructs a sound that mixes the likes Radiohead’s quitar structures and vocal whails with The Postal Service’s electronic instrumentation. You can check it out for yourself, free of charge, by downloading the album here, until December 31, 2009.
Trust me, you should.
Track Listing:
01. Swan Song
02. In House. In Host
03. While You Were Sleeping
04. Transit
05. Mecca
06. E. 130
