Chicago indie-rock band Time Thieves began when frontman Jonathan Pool (guitar, lead vocals) and Mike Oberlin (drums) tossed around the idea of forming a power pop band after spending years in Chicago’s punk scene. After releasing their EP Come Home in May, their new single “Fool’s Gold” today shows a heavier side of their sound ahead of their second EP of the year, If You Survive, out on October 3rd.
If You Survive continues their streak after releasing their EP Come Home this spring, and both EPs follow their debut album Space via Anxious & Angry in 2020. Their recent EP Come Home was reviewed by Maximum Volume, who gave the EP 8 out of 10 stars. Pool recorded and mixed both Come Home and the upcoming If You Survive between Kildare Studios and his house. Engineer Luke McNeil (The Copyrights, Dan Vapid, Big in Japan) mastered both EPs.
Under The Radar shared the single, writing it “initially reveals hints of the band’s heavier shades, opening on squalling guitar lines and distorted riffs before settling into a chugging bassline. However, this rumbling tinge also comes packaged with wiry power pop guitars and an undeniably charming melodic edge. The band’s vocals further bloom on the chorus, until it erupts with swooning backing harmonies and pounding keys in the climactic final moments.”
Sharing decades’ worth of midwestern punk cumulatively, Time Thieves say they’re a band stewed in punk but decidedly not punk. The band also includes Annie Saunders on bass and co-songwriter Tim Reynolds on lead guitar, with both members sharing backup vocal duties, and their other drummer Mustafa Daka (currently filling in for Mike Oberlin) has also been touring this summer with Smoking Popes
Frontman Jonathan Pool said of the single, “This song addresses irony and opposite outcomes to basic expectations; overtly negative consequences for well-intentioned actions. We chose this one as the lead song for our upcoming EP because it encapsulated the feel of the whole set of songs: It seems to happen more often than not that well-intentioned actions end up backfiring and causing more harm than good.”
Both EPs this year are an exercise in writing concise but catchy 2-4 minute power pop songs, full of crunchy guitar riffs and melodic vocals contrasted against more introspective lyricism. Pool continued, “The exasperation with all of it comes when realizing that you have no intention of giving up, knowing that you’re going to keep trying to do good in this world, even while knowing deep down that things are probably only going to get worse for a while before they get any better. The line ‘Something simple always seems so hard to find’ pretty much sums it up’.”
Bassist Annie Saunders has been profiled in alt-weekly the Chicago Reader for her work with Punk House Chicago, documenting the city’s past and present of punk. Lead guitartist and co-songwriter Tim Reynolds is an accomplished visual artist and graphic designer, who designs artwork for Time Thieves and served as the graphic design manager at Polyvinyl, where he created designs for artists such as American Football, Diane Coffee, and Alvvays.
Time Thieves will be releasing If You Survive on October 3rd before compiling the upcoming EP with the recent Come Home as a full-length record.
Guitar-driven power pop 4-piece Time Thieves first formed in Chicago in 2015 after Jonathan Pool (guitar, lead vocals) and Mike Oberlin (drums) talked for years about forming a band based on power pop bands like The Rentals, Grandaddy, OVENS, and early Weezer. Having both played in many punk bands over the years, this band became an exercise in focusing on melody and the craft of song while still retaining the energy and emotion of their punk roots.
With the addition of Annie Saunders (bass, vocals) and Tim Reynolds (lead guitar, vocals) the band has a shared history of collectively more decades worth of midwestern punk in one band that is decidedly not punk. Previous (and current) bands from these DIY lifers include Sass Dragons, This is My Fist!, Ambition Mission, Brickfight, Hospital Job, Horrible Things and many more.
Time Thieves is the culmination of four lifetime’s worth of experience, love of music and performance, and focus on songcraft rolled up into one perfectly crafted 25-minute set of that knows how to destroy a crowd, apologize for it, and then get their gear off the stage well before the next band even has their hi-hat stand put together.
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