Petty Larcenists “Stolen Chords and Lifted Riffs”

Bands must surely be struggling to find new names now so fair play to the Petty Larcenists for picking one of the coolest we’ve heard for some time. It immediately makes you think of some kind of mischievous punk sound.

The album opens up with “Loud & Ugly”, a track which actually reminds us of Frank Turner in his earlier days. There’s that same kind of ‘shouty’ vocals but also a strong sense of melody. There’s no doubting that fans of Mr Turner will love tracks like “The Last Time”.

However, Petty Larcenists also move into the wider American punk sound of bands like The Gaslight Anthem or the Restorations on songs like “What Now” and “The Kids Back Home”. These remain ‘proper’ punk songs but seem destined for stadiums or arenas rather than just back street pubs. Tracks like “Getting Was Good” and “Know What I’m Saying” are perfect for getting the crowd jumping and singing.

Given the album title and the aforementioned bands, it’s not surprising that there is also a hint of The Clash on some of the tracks. They were the masters of delivering punk rock with big melodies. That’s something that the Petty Larcenists also do brilliantly on tunes like “Grown Man’s Tears” and “I Can’t Get High”.

There’s something reassuring that no matter how the world changes, there is always room for some great punk n roll. Following on from bands like The Gaslight Anthem or Colt 45, Petty Larcenists are the next band to give you your fix of punk flavoured rock n roll. Definitely an album to buy and a band we hope we will be able to catch live very soon.