Little Thief is Charlie Fitzgerald and Rhii Williams. The Bristol based duo has just released “Lost in Love” and its brilliantly covered B-side “I’m On Fire”.
While “Lost in Love” is from their debut album Under the Patio (Sept 2021), its release is a celebration. The album Under the Patio turns a year old and the long time collaborators are also celebrating their recent engagement announcement. Congratulations Charlie and Rhii!
Of the “Lost in Love”, vocalist and lyricist Charlie Fitzgerald says:
We wanted to write a song that explored the unspoken, unexpected, sultry passion that creeps in when you’re 6 feet deep.
Let’s talk about “Lost in Love”
If an artist has an intriguing bass line, I’m hooked. I love the bass guitar. It’s sultry. It’s sexy. It’s groovy. It’s dirty. It’s hot. And the bass line in “Lost in Love” is all of the aforementioned. It’s the first thing I noticed and hear. It is the heartbeat of the song.
If the bass is the heartbeat of the song, then the lyrics are the blood that flows through the veins of the song. The song opens with the lyrics, “Chinese whispered in my head. Saying things you never said. There’s paranoia in my dreams. Things aren’t what they seem to be anymore.” And if those 4 lines don’t describe the thoughts of just about every human in the beginning of a relationship, I don’t know what could.
Charlie takes the lead on the vocals in “Lost in Love”, but when Rhii dips in, she’s an emphatic fairy, commanding attention. There’s an innocent nuance to her voice that compliments the heartbreak confusion of Charlie’s.
“Lost in Love” is a wonderful showcase of the duo’s powerful talents.
“I’m on Fire” is an iconic Bruce Springsteen song. An artist has to have balls to cover a song that is already simple, poetic, and beautiful.
Little Thief has those balls.
I have a theory when it comes to covers. There 3 right ways to do a cover:
- Make it an upgrade of the original while still sounding like or very similar to the original
- Make it your own and give it your signature sound or a unique sound
- Make it an upgrade of the original, make it your own, and douse that baby in your essence (aka sound)
Little Thief nails Number 3.
They amplify the bass (Yes! Please and thank you!)
Charlie’s voice invokes that same longing as Bruce’s but Rhii’s addition, makes the longing more like a lovelorn ghost begging to be seen. While Bruce’s drums sound almost like a clock ticking time away, Little Thief’s drums are that of a love fading away into the dusk.
This version of “I’m on Fire” is the one that plays as the guy watches the love of his life slip away into the dark of the night.
Little Thief simply makes the song their own and it’s heartbreaking and hauntingly beautiful.
Heads up to Bristol locals, Little Thief‘s engagement party will be at a very special gig at The Lanes on October 1st, on the last day of their UK tour. Don’t miss the chance to celebrate the duo and to catch them live!
Listen to the Lost in Love EP below
Catch Little Thief live:
19th September – Little Buildings, Newcastle
20th September – Oporto, Leeds
21st September – Retro, Manchester
22nd September – Divehu5, Hull
23rd September – The Dead Famous, Newquay
24th September – The Cobblestones, Bridgwater
25th September – The Old Blue Last, London
27th September – Victoria Vaults, York
28th September – The Night Owl, Birmingham
29th September – Paradiddles, Worcester
30th September – The Railway Inn, Winchester
1st October – The Lanes, Bristol
