Danger Thieves (self-titled)
LABEL: self-released

I'm tempted to say it was Tom Waits who opined that people don't like their artists to be good at more than one thing. I have to admit my own skepticism when one of my beloved artists, particularly musicians, decides they want to branch out into other areas of expression. When I learned that Portland-based fuzz pedal goddess Devi Ever was working on an album with her band, Danger Thieves, there was certainly that jaded eyebrow raise. What I was expecting was a mash of incongruent styles, meandering FX passages, and more attention given to the craft of sound than the craft of song. I then gave their self-titled EP a good, solid listen out of my relentless love for Devi and her work. All of my expectations were thankfully thrown right out the window after just the first song, “Revenge of the Thieves.”

What Danger Thieves has managed to craft instead is an organic expression that nestles itself at home (or more appropriately, in the garage) with the lo-fi noise-rock circles of the early ‘90s. Their debut EP also draws from diverse elements of doom metal, shoegaze, surf-rock, post-punk, ‘60s psychedelic in the vein of The Velvet Underground, and, most certainly, the sludgy thwack of Mudhoney and Green River. These all could easily look like that aforementioned ‘mash,’ but somehow, Danger Thieves make it work, and what's more, makes it sound original and natural. It's a refreshing blast of unclear genre influences and singular style in the very heart of the indie-hipster-laden Pacific Northwest. The band's sound defies the foundation of their work as much as the stagnant scene around them.

The energy of the record is pure grime and dirt. You would be hard pressed to find a dirtier, nastier guitar tone this side of Electric Wizard than what Devi and Tom Torresdal have cooked up here. In the midst of all the crud the band allows for some true beauty and work with dynamics. While the production achieves wonders with the guitars and vocals, Raina Shadbolt's drums could use a nice dose of Dale Crover 'whumph' to spread over the bottom end of the Danger Thieves' sound. The EP is raw and young, and it's clear that Danger Thieves have some more machete clearing to do before they really produce something you can sink your teeth into. The glimpse we're offered, though, is valuable enough to keep our ears pressed hard against this peculiar band's development. There simply aren't a lot of bands doing this abrasive, unapologetically rock sound; if there are, they're nowhere near to sounding this good.

Much to this DIYers delight, Danger Thieves are putting their EP out as individually handmade, signed and numbered packages in a limited run of 250 from their Bandcamp page. So head over and order one before me and all my hipster Pacific Northwest friends beat you to it.


REVIEWED BY NEIL LEVENS
Neil lives in Seattle and is part of the band Izalith.