Music Q&A:
Nothing But Thieves

Following the release of their self-titled debut, alt.rock five piece Nothing But Thieves are currently on their biggest tour to date, rounding up at Liverpool Arts Club on 29 Nov. Singer Conor Mason and guitarist Joe Langridge-Brown tell Big Issue North how they had a taste of something bigger and it’s left them hungry for more.

Having built hype through the EP, radio play and gigs was there a lot of pressure for the album to live up to expectations?
Not really – pressure from whom? We’ve only ever made music we love. We’ve been lucky that other people have found something in it too. It’s a nice feeling. We’ve always been pretty confident in what we’ve created. I guess if we weren’t then we would have felt pressure. We feel very much at the start of our career and know we have more to offer. We just take things as they come really.

Is the final product what you set out hoping to create?
It is for the most part, yeah. Obviously we’re still learning. I hope we’ll always be learning. There are things we’ve picked up along the way that may have changed the album if we were to record it now. Having said that, the point of the album is to be a snapshot of where we were/are now. I think it’s the absolute best we could do at the time, which is all you can ask for.

Are you happy with the response to your album so far?
Absolutely. We had no idea what to expect but people are calling it their favourite album. How cool is that? The thing I’m most proud of is that we were number one in the vinyl charts. It shows people are actually listening to the album as a whole – that’s what we want. We aren’t a singles band.

You played on Muse’s Rock in Roma show to 30,000 fans. How did your sound hold up?
I dunno. From the response we got from the crowd I think well. It really felt like our own show, the audience were so receptive. We’ve had people from that show come over and see us in the UK, which is pretty amazing.

Do you have stadium ambitions or do you prefer smaller gigs?
The blueprint of the band has always been to do it properly or not at all. We wanna work hard, we wanna be loved and hated and we’d love to be able to fill a stadium one day (preferably the Emirates). Having said that, I don’t think we’d ever completely turn our backs on small gigs. They’re fun.

Who are your key influences?
Mostly older music, Led Zep, Pink Floyd, Pixies. We love anything that is its own thing and sounds unique. Arcade Fire, Radiohead.

Are you worried that your name might make you an easy target for accusations of musical thievery?
Haven’t thought about it. Wouldn’t care much if it did, really.

Antonia Charlesworth