Kind Hearted Thieves find compassion between “Love And Other Curses” on their new lead single
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- October 8, 2022
“I personally struggled with addiction for a long time. I was intrigued by how both Love and Addiction share many traits. How they can make us do, say or think things that we wouldn’t normally do. There is also this juxtaposition in life that enables us to really find ourselves and our strength in the darkest moments.”
– Jamie, Kind Hearted Thieves
Music that is the most personal is also often the most touching; it’s the kind of music that – regardless of the songwriter’s situation – can be the most rewarding to emotionally fix to. With “Love and Other Curses”, Kind Hearted Thieves allow both stark lyricism and melancholy musicality to insist on these such connections to their songwriting, as themes surrounding the typically taboo subject of addiction and its unlikely similarity to love are fully fleshed out in an introspective review.
“Love and Other Curses”, title track from the forthcoming album, arrives at a time where KHT are flourishing sonically. The five-man strong collective boast prowess on not only the warmly familiar acoustic guitar, but also the beautifully incorporated synergy of orchestral strings. What is ultimately synthesized from these amalgamations is grandiosity; in an interview with IAMUR in 2021, lead singer and acoustic guitarist, Jamie expressed that – with growth – he wanted “big, epic sounds” from future outings with the band, and that’s exactly what “Curses” achieves.
Watch the official music video for “Love and Other Curses” on YouTube here:
Despite this widening soundscape, KHT remains firmly in their own folk grunge realm, Jamie’s vocals still sounding like a raspy ode to the late Chris Cornell and conveying a similar, viscerally emotive undertone as Nick Drake’s early 70’s approach to folk mastering.
If this latest release is anything, it’s real; a tangible documentation and allegory of the lead’s personal struggles with “wandering off the edge” with addiction. The retrospective discussion of personal addiction, which Jamie tells he had struggled with for a long period, is also testament to how personal strength can birth from these situations. It’s a strength similar to that emitted by the glowing strings that are weaved in between the acoustic guitar melody. For someone who admits to seldom being able to “beat the final boss” in one task for favour of the next, this latest single confirms an intrinsic resilience, demonstrating that the lead singer can (and has) beaten the monolithic “final boss” of addiction.
This particular release though, is said to express “intrigue” in “how love and addiction share many traits”. In lyrical metaphor, “Curses” likens the addictive pleasure exuded by love to the less abstract, and more graspable addiction that affects so many: “The Love is to blame” Jamie despairs over the consistent acoustic strums. However, while it’s a devastating subject matter at heart, “Love and Other Curses” ultimately bestows a glimpse of hope. It’s a glimpse that’s given by the lyricism explicitly, but ultimately reinforced by an impassioned vocal and supported by an arresting concoction of instrumentals.
With this only being the lead single (out Friday, October 7th), there is unequivocally more to expect from the Northwest folk band. Their inspired sonic soundscape and emotive expression is more than enough to assure that the album of the same name will follow in the footsteps of this latest single both creatively and emotionally.
Listen to more from Kind Hearted Thieves on Spotify:
Readers can follow KHT on Instagram, Facebook and all the usual music streaming platforms, and check out our November 2021 interview with KHT here.
