NEW AGE THIEF 'Stars Align' Album Review

Stars Align - New Age Thief Album Review

Written by: Sage Plapp

Emo-influenced alt-rock duo New Age Thief dropped their debut album Stars Align on October 25, 2024.

From the get-go, “Cherish” introduces the album well. There’s just enough energy to share the overall sound of the album, but it saves the highs and lows for the journey ahead. Moving into more details from the tracklist: “Circle the Room,”  holds onto energetic pacing, and then “Bleeding Out” digs deeper into a catchier harmony. 

Following the first three tracks, “Crumb” jumps into a bit of a lighter tempo providing an even more raw production style before the band picks up the rate back up with a rush of guitars and speedy harmonic vocal lines.

The second half of Stars Align starts with an instrumental interlude titled “Losing Youth.”  Even the sounds of the instrumentation keep up a bit of a growl, it fits the same darker, more guttural production style of the previous tracks and ushers in the next well. The synthy outro works well as a transition into the sweeter, and more pop-centric sound of “Memento.” This track stands out with its brighter vocals and ear-catching harmonies. It serves as a deep-cut track that gets into grief and reminiscence over those who were once there but are now strangers.

For the remainder of the second half of New Age Thief’s new release, Stars Align, “Out of Reach”, hits off with strong drumming and a pace and power that contrasts well. This track in particular stands out with its vocal distortion that helps it fit the thickness of the instrumentation and a well-implemented guitar solo. The last two tracks wrap things up with a punch. The second interlude featured, “Unraveling” provides more energy than the first. This compliments the album’s transition well, ushering into the next track perfectly, yet again. This track is a little more experimental and seemingly features sounds of guitars being played backwards. It is interesting and adds a bit of something different to the album. Then, ‘Found My Flame’ has the uptempo energy of most of the album, but it tones down just in time to wrap things up with a somber raw sound and emotional vocals.

Lyrically, this album seems to tackle topics that pertain to moving toward a brighter future while living in the present. It has some somber reminiscence of difficulties. For example some lyrics that stand out are: “Take your time / Just slow down.” from “Cherish.” After that, the duo’s lyrics from “Circle The Room”: “Wait / Am I where I should be? / Have I gotten lost? / Do you know where to find me?” 

This album gives this back-and-forth feeling of being in the right space, but having doubts of if that is really the case. Everything wraps up with the closing track, “Found My Flame” which depicts burned memories and the inability to meet eye-to-eye. While also stating: “[But] I’m awake / I’ve found my flame,” it seems to jump into a separation. Although, it has a hopeful undertone of moving forward with what is necessary. 

Overall, this was a strong release, especially as a debut album. New Age Thief works with emotion in a dynamic way and did not fail to build a reminiscence with Stars Align. It has a potent blend of optimism and pain. It works well with its pacing and delivers highs and lows. With the dynamics present, the transitions wrap things together quite cohesively. Throughout just shy of half an hour of new tracks from New Age Thief’s first debut album, there’s a lot of meat to get into within the musicianship and lyrics. This album still delivers.

New Age Thief is a Chicagoland-based alt-rock duo that consists of Gino Savarino (singer/guitarist) and Brady Corcoran (Drummer). Both artists came together from the Chicago scene in 2023 as New Age Thief to start performing and creating. Their sound is reminiscent of alternative music from the 2000s and 2010s, but has been refreshed for modern ears. 

For “modern” alternative rock fans, the Stars Align production was helped by Brett Romnes who has worked with other rising and growing bands in the genre. New Age Thief’s brand-new album is currently available on all major streaming platforms, and the vinyl can be pre-ordered on Wax Bodega’s shop.

• Insight from our writer while listening to New Age Thief’s new release Stars Align: “One thing to note about this album is that some speaker systems can drown out the lyricism. It helps to turn down the bass if possible in some more bass-focused systems. Other than that, most quality audio systems deliver the vocals and lyrics with clarity.” - Sage Plapp

  Written by: Sage Plapp