The Midwest indie-rock quartet is on a roll in 2025 after releasing their EP Come Homein May. Their next EP If You Survive shows the band’s range while still keeping the focus on short and sweet songs with riffs, catchy vocals, and a bombastic rhythm section.
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, they’re releasing a second EP this fall with If You Survive on October 3rd to show a darker, and often heavier sound that will complete a fuller picture alongside the previous EP.
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 year with Smoking Popes.
The band writes concise but catchy 2-4 minute power pop songs, full of crunchy guitar riffs and melodic vocals contrasted against more introspective lyricism. The EPs will be combined as one full-length record later this winter, with both EPs building on a thematic narrative and power pop-inspired sound across the combined 10 songs.
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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