Century Thief is a six-piece indie folk/rock band based in Toronto, Canada.  Drawing from influences like Broken Social Scene, Radiohead, Jeff Buckley, Wilco, and Elliott Smith, they’ve developed a melodic, unconventional and captivating sound. Thanks to an impressive array of instrumentation, including brass, woodwinds, keys, guitars, bass and drums, as well as lush vocal harmonies, their music has a rich orchestral quality, yet is very accessible and down to earth. A sound engineer in Montreal once described their sound as “trash lounge folk prog rock” – a fitting description they liked so much they use it in their bio.

Century Thief is comprised of Michael Legere (guitar and vocals), Kathryn Kearns (keys, woodwinds and vocals), Omar Shabbar (guitar and vocals), Dante Matas (bass), Adam Reid (brass) and Colin McNally (drums). They released their debut EP Reverie in 2015, and this May dropped their stunning new EP Deaf Beneath the Waves. The band provided a bit of background about the EP to webzine Live in Limbo: “Deaf Beneath the Waves is about coming to terms with your place in the world. The songs interrogate past patterns of behavior, and struggle to light a path forward. The EP is a nostalgic inquiry into mortality, futility and the desire to find meaning and purpose in life and love. It was recorded at a farmhouse in Madoc, Ontario.”

The first track “406” is a hauntingly beautiful but melancholy song about acknowledging the hurt one has caused another in a relationship, and wanting forgiveness and a second chance: “How could I mess up this bad? Please forget these mistakes I have. And I can’t stop thinking about you.” The track starts off with an enchanting, almost magical intro, with delicate xylophone and strings, then acoustic guitar and keyboards are gradually added along with lovely harmonizing vocals. The instrumentals expand to include moody trumpet, fluttering flute and smooth percussion as the track builds to a climax. It’s a gorgeous song whose melody stayed with me long afterwards.

“You Are Here” is a beautifully moving track with a bit of a jazzy vibe. Lovely keyboards and trumpets take a starring role, and Legere’s vocals are really wonderful as he sings about feeling unsure of how to continue in the relationship: “I’ve been pacing around the same ideas. Haven’t worked before, this time I’m not sure.” The backing vocal harmonies are sublime.

The band states that the third track “Science of Solace” is “about waking up submerged in a lake and deciding whether to return to the surface, to grow some gills and start a new life, or just sink into the next world.” It has more of a pop song feel, with Kathryn’s charming vocals dominating, backed with an extended horn riff, pleasing tempo and some discordant synth sounds.

All three tracks are marvelous, and over far too quickly. Century Thief is an amazingly talented group of musicians, and we need to hear more of their innovative music, hopefully soon!

Connect with Century Thief:  Facebook / Twitter / Instagram
Stream their music:  Spotify / Apple Music / Soundcloud
Purchase:  Bandcamp / iTunes