Album Review: Locksmith Thief

Now that’s a great way to open an album.

Bruised and Broken is the first track of Mecuzine’s new album Locksmith Thief, and my god what an epic track to open their new record.

The tune and album opens with a beautifully dark piano motif which has a few cycles before it’s joined by electronic drums and the singer’s amazing voice

Same Boat is a great second track, with the darkly funny lyric, “we’re all in the same boat, and it’s sinking”. The song has more of a pop feel, and could launch the band into a more mainstream audience.

There’s a musical interlude at track 3, called Interlude (Preset Reset). The fourth song on the long player if Blue Skies. It a great tale of feeling like a stand in partner for someone. Mecuzine write songs to be huge, building verses, determined choruses, and dramatic middle-eights. Blue Skies is a fabulous example of this.

Beautiful Notes opens and is a more up tempo number than the more moodier tunes on the first few quarter of the recording. It is a solidly 1980s influenced song. There are sumptuous layers of programming which ramble between verse and chorus, before a mid-section which gives the drum machine a break, before the beat drops back into the chorus to close.

Illusions brings the tempo down and the singer’s voice is really reminding me of Placebo’s Brian Molko. Kinda wonder if that band were an influence on members of Mezucine? Track 7 Midday of Spring has an acoustic guitar opening a song for the first time on this album, the song rapidly building well.

Dancing With The Thought is quite anthemic, faster again, not quite up to the tempo of Beautiful Notes, but it bangs along nicely. Track 9 Competition begins with late 80s early 90s distorted rock guitar as a statement of intent. The song flows on well, and the singer’s gorgeous falsetto is showcased well in this number.

I kinda glazed over song 11 Digging Deeper, it sounded nice enough. The closing song Jet Plane is an excellent refrain to end the album, drawing the listener into wanting to return to the first song.

Mecuzine’s Locksmith Thief is an excellent second album, dancing between genres with style and grace.

Well worth a listen if you’re wanting to a diverse and exciting record.