Only Thieves – “Heartless Romantics”

On first listen, Heartless Romantics is a raucous garage-band gauntlet: The Replacements, The Arkells, Gaslight; they all rear up at some point to bludgeon you. It’s a bit heavy handed, but as the album progresses to its more interesting tracks – the tender title-track, or the dance-punk of “Unsatisfied” – Only Thieves manage to impress.

And lo and behold, after a few listens that initial gauntlet becomes an intricate mosaic; merging influences and bridging genres to polish a solid rock album that has all the right energy in all the right places. Singing about girls, whisky and cocaine, Heartless Romantics relies on a rock formula that can’t fail, and since practical use of these elements always seems to end in jail time, you’re safest bet is to just listen to the music.

Track Listing:

01. All the Sad Young Men
02. Discoveries
03. Flood Lights
04. Register
05. Pioneer Repair
06. The Ballad of the Aluminum Girl
07. Heartless Romantic
08. Unsatisfied
09. Bricks
10. What’s Wrong

Run Time: 43:50
Release Date: 02.14.2011

Check out the song: “Register”