The sound of guitars in Nothing But Thieves’ (NBT) Futureproof, accompanied by its heavy drums and bass, recently inserted itself in between the threads of my dreaming and waking self one morning; it was like a lullaby and an alarm clock going off at the same time. After a while, it became louder and started to mingle with the other noises around me—it was time to get up. The song kept on playing in my head even when I was already fully awake, and it continued to do so a few days after that. I think I had seen this before.
It was almost this way, too, that another track of theirs became an earworm for me for a good couple of weeks. This time, it was Real Love Song off the initial release of their album, Moral Panic, in 2020. I had passively heard the track a few times, but the guitar part between 00:39-00:45 often began to pop in my head later on. More bits of the song eventually embedded themselves in my brain moments before I woke up and continued to play throughout the day.
In the hopes of getting rid of this tune, I decided to get to know it more: listen more attentively, watch its video, and look up its lyrics. After all, one of the effective ways to remove stuck songs is to listen to them entirely (well, at least that is what Harvard says). But none of what I did helped; in fact, these things only cemented the song’s presence in my head. I was able to memorize the lyrics and sing the whole tune now! But something else happened, too: I realized that despite its somewhat cheesy lyrics, the music itself was not that bad. Real Love Song actually became one of the reasons why I watched the band’s live stream in October of the same year.
I already knew NBT years before their songs invaded my head. It was around 2015 or 2016, and I was at the time (still am despite their ghosting of their fans) a fan of Twin Wild, another English band. Twin Wild supported NBT on some of their shows, and it was through them that I got know the guys from Essex. The first song that I checked out from them was Ban All the Music. Unfortunately, I found the song and the video bland. I would, later on, go and introduce the band to my sister, who was likewise not captivated by their sound. It would take her a while and a cover of Jeff Buckley’s Lover, You Should’ve Come Over, though, to like NBT.
Perhaps “like” is an understatement as she eventually fell in love with their music. Although she didn’t really care much about the band, she consumed their work passionately. She would often try to convince me to listen to their albums or follow them already on Spotify, but I would always decline. “Why don’t you like them? They’re sooo good!” she would say. “They’re the best band I have discovered in the last few years. You would love them!” she’d continue. But she was not able to convert me into a fan. At the time, they simply did not resonate with me at all, and there was just something about them, too–and I couldn’t pinpoint what it was–that I didn’t quite like. I would often tell her that she shouldn’t force it, and that their music would capture me… if it was meant to.
This didn’t mean that I completely dismissed their existence, though. I did listen to some of their songs, and I was, ironically, even more knowledgeable and updated about the band than my sister was as I had an online friend who was also into NBT and would often post stuff about them. So, I knew what singles they released, where their next tour was going to be, and even the sexual harassment controversy they got involved with during the height of the MeToo era. She also tried to convince me to check them out go to their concert, but like my sister, she too failed.
Honestly, had the concert pushed through, I would most probably go but only because either my sister would force me to accompany her or if they had gotten Twin Wild as the front act. It’s definitely unusual to watch a concert simply because of the opener, but there I was willing to bleed money just to see them.
But things have changed since then. Thanks to the stuck song syndrome I experienced and the live stream, I warmed up to them eventually. The live stream helped a lot in allowing me to explore their music further. Free If We Want It, a song I heard for the first time through the live stream stole my attention and even made it to my personal soundtrack that year. Amazingly, in 2021, that and Nothing But Thieves themselves even landed a spot on my Spotify Wrapped (even though I wasn’t following them), something I definitely didn’t see coming!
Fast forward to 2022, have I followed them on Spotify now? Yes, but I still haven’t dug deep into their discography; I’ve been listening a lot to Moral Panic (Complete Edition) these past few days, though. Will I now see them in concert in case they drop by in the future? Yes, most probably, and it’s going to be voluntary this time around! So, have I been converted to a fan? I still don’t think I can consider myself one just yet. In my case, anyway, many of the artists who have made a big impact on me are the ones I didn’t immediately notice or even like, so there’s no need to rush or force this. Music is like love: you can’t force it; you have to let it happen. (Charaught!) Besides, I’m already truly listening to Nothing But Thieves, anyway! That’s already an excellent start, don’t you think?
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