Liar Thief Bandit: Icon (2024, The Sign Records)

The Swedes Liar Thief Bandit have become one of my favorite bands of the last decade over time. The high energy trio from Malmö, a term that from my point of view perfectly describes the sound of the project led by Mike Jacobson, has managed to harvest a good handful of anthems throughout their three studio albums published to date. Icon advertisement that at the same time have become essential classics in my daily life thanks to that perfect combination of seventies hard rock and nineties Scandinavian garage rock.

It was very clear to me that Icon would become another of my favorite albums ever since I first heard the single Death Pioneer a couple of months ago, a song that completely blew my mind and which I have returned to countless times throughout the years. these last few weeks, accompanying me in painful moments that I have suffered in my personal life. I can never thank Mike, William and Niklas enough for their work as musicians, making my difficult days lighter thanks to their total dedication to the music they compose and perform.

I must say that I met Liar Thief Bandit with the release of Deadlights, their previous album, but the original proposal of the Swedish trio left me breathless from the first moment I heard the song that gives the album its title and which remains my favorite until the date. The combination of hard rock with a certain aroma of early Kiss and the guitar arrangements close to Thin Lizzy made me fall in love with the strength and originality of a band that was completely new to me at that time. I remember publishing my review of Deadlights in what we know today as Allied Forces, which at that time was still called Manners Of Hate, and I was still in awe when I thought about the band I had just discovered.

I remember talking about the cover of Deadlights on the late Manners Of Hate since I was very shocked by the contrast between the photograph chosen to give life to the album cover with the content of the album itself, a cover that has also earned a place privileged in my heart. With Icon they have opted for a striking cover that I need to wear on a t-shirt right now, even more so after having listened to the album for almost two weeks non-stop before starting to write these lines.

Liar Thief Bandit does not fool anyone, its energetic proposal is only equaled by the catchy melodies that give life to its concise and direct songs that in just over thirty-five minutes give us a band committed to two hundred percent of its capacity. From the fast and devastating The Ultimate Sign that introduces us to a trio in top form to the title track of the album itself, Icon, Liar Thief Bandit shows us once again that they do not intend to be carried away by trends and remain faithful to their sound combining the catchy aggressiveness that we find in songs like Residence Sorrow with the mid tempos closer to The Hellacopters on High Visibility whom I revere as much as Liar Thief Bandit in songs like It All Goes Away In The End or in Red Out Of The Blue.

Once again I want to highlight the sense of déjà-vu that runs through my spine every time I listen to songs like the totemic Death Pioneer that somehow transports me to my idolized Thin Lizzy, whom I miss so much that I have found the spiritual successors of their technical melody in Liar Thief Bandit and I no longer want to let go of them. I continue to blow my mind with Traces Of Use and the devastating Recoil where Mike probably offers one of his best vocal work to date, without leaving aside the second and very successful single Retaliation where William and Niklas stand out in a spectacular way with those pronounced bass lines and a constant galloping drums that also compete with the powerful Dying Efforts where Niklas shines beautifully as he did in the song that for me best captures the sound of its four strings, I’ve Got A Lot Of Money Comin ‘In from their previous album, Deadlights.

In short, and without wanting to seem pedantic, Liar Thief Bandit once again stands out with an outstanding album that can remind us of many things at the same time but that at the same time stands as a totally original band that does not pale before the great exponents of the genre. Icon has earned a special place in my vinyl collection that will come home as soon as it goes on sale and that deserves to be listened to at maximum volume. Mike, Niklas and William, congratulations on your great work!

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