Future Thieves is back with a brand-new song, and you’ll be a “Sucker” for the catchy tune.
The Nashville-based alt-rock quartet (lead singer Elliot Collett, guitarist Austin McCool, bassist Nick Goss and drummer Gianni Gibson) recently delivered a live album, Live at Blue Rock, but haven’t released new music since its debut LP Horizon Line in 2015. The wait for new material is over, though, as Future Thieves premieres “Sucker” exclusively on Billboard.
“Sucker” stays true to the indie rock that Future Thieves introduced on its first record, with the infusion of some electro-pop grooves throughout the three-minute song, which they refer to as “a driving soundtrack with a bitter sweet love story.” As the lollipop cover art hints, it’s quite the ear candy. Check it out:
Following the release of “Sucker,” Future Thieves will take part as official artists in Austin’s SXSW music festival, and come May, the group will embark on its first European tour. And as fans would hope, “Sucker” is an indication that more new music is on the way — expect an album later this year. The guys of Future Thieves detailed their new music and upcoming ventures in an email to Billboard.
What is the story behind “Sucker,” and why did you feel it was the right fit for the first song release of your new music?
Elliot: “Sucker” is a song that just came naturally to us musically. It’s sort of a bittersweet story lyrically. It’s about loving someone or something that can’t exactly love you back or even know you’re alive. Something like the summertime or a girl or boy that just won’t acknowledge your existence. This song is just a good representation of the kind of tunes we have been working on lately because of its easy flow. We want people to hear it and just sit back and not have to go to great lengths to overthink the song. It’s just an easy listener.
Is there a message you want to send through or a goal you have for your new set of music?
Nick: The goal with our new music is the same every time: to capture the moment of what we’re playing, listening to, and experiencing in our lives in general. “Sucker” and the music that will be on the next album is what we feel to be the next step in how our music should evolve. It’s different, but the idea is to have it represent us as a collective group while pushing our boundaries and comfort zones.
What did you decide to do differently/the same in the creation of “Sucker” and your newer tunes versus the first record?
Austin: For all of the new tunes, we’ve holed ourselves up in a little lodge on a lake in Eastern Tennessee to hang and get strange. The move to writing there was a huge change from trying to come up with ideas at our old home studio or during soundcheck on tour. “Sucker” was one of the first ones we wrote there. The way we used to play it, it was much more ballsy and clunky, but we sat down and really fleshed out each part until the song changed from a loud, fast song to what it is now, just tight and groovy.
What can fans expect from the new material, sonically and lyrically?
Elliot: The new tunes we’re writing have just come so easy to us. This is something that I personally think is key to making great music. By not fighting with a song and just letting it happen you get something that I think can touch a lot of people. Sonically, they are easy flowing and riff-based. The melodies aren’t over-thought and meant for people to sing along without a care. The lyrics are made to relate on a surface level and then take for what they want to interpret them as without being too vague.
Why is playing live so important to what Future Thieves represents/creates?
Gianni: The live performance is an essential element to the whole experience of being a band. And from day one we have always maintained giving the audience the best possible performance. We are musicians and also entertainers. A single person who buys a ticket to our show made the choice to see us out of the millions of other things they could be doing that night. For that reason, we give them the best show we possibly can.
What are you most looking forward to about SXSW?
Nick: SXSW was so much fun last year, but we were playing all unofficial showcases. This year has been great to watch the schedule pan out with all the official showcases. We are most looking forward to playing a ton of new stuff, maybe even all new stuff. As we write these songs we are focusing on the recordings but the entire week before SXSW will be rehearsals for SX. We love Texas, especially Austin, and we think people are going to enjoy what they hear.
How did the Europe tour come about? What are you most looking forward to with that? And will there be a US tour later this year?
Elliot: We’ve always wanted to play overseas and particularly Europe. I’m most looking forward to being in a place where people have lived for thousands of years and getting to see a culture that old. We happen to be quite lucky to have a fella named Larry Butler who runs a great venue in Murphy, NC support us enough to allow us to go over there and do our thing. We’ve also teamed up with a booking agency called Black Pike Favorites and our booking agent FATA who have scheduled all of our shows in Europe. We are super stoked. I would imagine there will be a [U.S.] tour scheduled for July into the fall so we can play our new record for all our rowdy friends here in the States.
FUTURE THIEVES TOUR DATES
Mar 14 – Austin, TX @ Tellers
Mar 14 – Austin, TX @ Scratchouse
Mar 15 – Austin, TX @ Tiniest Bar
Mar 16 – Austin, TX @ The Blackheart
Mar 16 – Austin, TX @ Cheers Rooftop
Mar 17 – Austin, TX @ Champions
Mar 18 – Austin, TX @ Cheers Rooftop
Mar 19 – Austin, TX @ Stubb’s BBQ
Apr 06 – Nashville, TN @ 3rd and Lindsley
Apr 07 – Murphy, NC @ Chevelles
Apr 08 – Tallahassee, FL @ Word Of South Festival
May 3 – Madrid, Spain @ Copernico Cavern
May 4 – Zaragoza, Spain @ Rock & Blues
May 5 – Barcelona, Spain @ Rocksound
May 9- Saint Esteve, France @ Drink Shop
May 10 – Geneva, Switzerland @ Le Bouffon De La Taverne
May 11 – Maulburg, Germany @ Zum Ochsen
May 12 – Rubigen, Switzerland @ Muhle Hunziken
May 13 – Dortmund, Germany @ Blue Notez
May 14 – Weert, Netherlands @ De Bosuil
May 17 – Arnstadt, Germany @ Kulisse
May 18 – Prague, Czech Republic @ Hard Rock Café
May 19 – Lauchhammer, Germany @ Real Music Club
May 20 – Reitwein, Germany @ Live in Reitwein
May 23 – Bremen, Germany @ Meisenfrei
May 26 – London, UK @ Surya
May 28 – Bristol, UK @ Louisiana
May 29 – Manchester, UK @ Castle Hotel
May 30 – Nottingham, UK @ Bodega
June 2 – Hagen, Germany @ Gastsadte Stock
June 3 – Schoppingen, Germany @ Grolsch Festival