This Dublin-based trio have thankfully steered well clear of any risk of being filed under ‘Irish guitar bands’. For Heart Waves is a wondrous confection of eccentric indie meets synth-pop with all the bleeps, beats and beery attitude you’d expect from such an uneasy marriage. Indeed there’s something both magical and intimidating in their mix of guitar, synths and vocals, especially the honey-dripping voice of Sorcha Brennan, who delivers like a veteran.
A deadly buzz hovers around ‘Disappear Here’, with its toyshop full of beguiling noises and cutesy melody. Hear it one and a half times and the fast-paced ‘City Lights’, with its catchy melody, carefree lyric and hypnotic synth riffs, will take up permanent residence in your cranium, daring you to ask it to leave. ‘Osumi’ is a mischievous charmer, skipping relentlessly along, with an underlying menace in the lyrics, a disjointed arrangement and shifting spacy riffs that take you everywhere but where you were expecting to go. There’s a mercurial rush to ‘Magnetic Heart’, Brennan’s skittery vocals battling against a chaotic backdrop, and winning. Hooks abound too, especially in ‘Do It The Hard Way’ and ‘Hope Is Dead’, with plenty to stir the most stubborn feet.
Sleep Thieves have taken the road less travelled and magically contrived a fresh and vibrant vibe. Watch them go.