Time Thieves, of Chicago, IL, bill themselves as power pop in the vein of The Rentals or Fountains of Wayn or Weezer in their bio and they double down on that with the smooth as silk, uplifting melody of "Cover Your Eyes," the first song on their Come Home/If You Survive Extended Edition LP that arrived on my doorstep, literally frozen to the stone thanks to a careless mail carrier.
I peeled it off the steps, dried it off, and thanks to the plastic sleeve, only the onesheet was warped. Anyway, the LP itself is a 3-parter: combining the band's two 2025 EPs on a single release and adding 4 more songs (one new take and 3 demos) to fill it out. Speaking in generalities, the Come Home side is dreamy with elements of jangle pop -- especially at the start of the song "Come Home." While the foundation of the band is power pop, influences cast a wider net within the general alt-rock realm. Melodic '90s guitars play a big role, bringing in a little more rock on "Remember I Forgot," complimented by some peppy percussion. "Forever Drifting" ends with some well-placed feedback and, while it may be blasphemous, I listened to this LP shortly after revisiting the Nevermind: 20th Anniversary Edition demos and I heard some similarities in vocal approach.
Flipping it over to If You Survive, those fundamental rock elements seep through a little more -- a little heavier, if you will. "Fool's Gold" has a chunky riff that compliments the mellow vocals and builds into a potent melody, completed with some great harmonies. "Anymore" doubles down on that harmony plus choppy guitar layer again. Sometimes there is a spacey psych-rock element, as in "Dirge (If You Survive)." In many songs, the diversified rock influences drive the bridges, then the song moves back into power pop terrain.
Members of Time Thieves have also been in This Is My Fist, Hospital Job, The Brokedowns and Sass Dragons, among others. I tie that in because Time Thieves sounds quite different -- but it's also a bit different than what I usually listen to. Over the 13 songs here, there's a variety from track-to-track that I don't find in my more punk rotation. Even with that diversified song structure, Come Home/If You Survive works as a cohesive product, even though it's a 3-in-1 LP.
