Thieves Like Us - Again and again
(Shelflife Records)

As a fan of "Play music" [review here] and Shelflife Records's releases in general, I was very much looking forward to Thieves Like Us' newest offering. But where "Play music" reveled in its dark minimalism, "Again and again" is a mess of repetitive saccharine-sweet simplicity. The record starts off alright with the playful "Never known love", but quickly begins its downward spiral. There are moments of redemption -- the aforementioned "Never known love", "Lover lover", and a few hooks scattered sporadically through the album's tracklist -- but these moments are fleeting and far too few to make much of an impact against the record's overall negative impression. On any other album, "Lover lover" would be an 'okay song'; the fact that it is one of the highlights of "Again and again" speaks to its weaknesses. The record feels and sounds like something a few New Order fans cranked out over a weekend in an apartment studio, most of its hooks wasted on meandering compositions and its best efforts easily overshadowed by other New Order/Justice-inspired acts. It's not a total waste, but, sadly and surprisingly for a band of Thieves Like Us' caliber, it's not far off.
- Lars Garvey Laing-Peterson