Some musicians are born in Nashville, but the overwhelming majority of the ones there are drawn in. And so it was with the four talented members of Future Thieves. Guitarist Austin McCool (by birth or imagination, that is a name destined for Rock & Roll greatness) and bassist Nick Goss grew up in Evansville, Ind. and were together from grade school through college before moving to Nashville at different times and winding up in different bands (though still hanging out and making music of their own). When their respective bands broke up, McCool and Goss made their musical partnership official in 2013 with the addition of Goss’s friend, drummer Gianni Gibson, a Nashvillian by way of Los Angeles, New York and London who left his existing band to cast his lot with the nascent new group. Vocalist/guitarist Elliot Collett, a native Kentuckian, was invited to join shortly thereafter, bringing with him a band name he had conceived during his stint in Los Angeles.
At the start, Future Thieves was a quintet featuring a Blues guitarist, but with his departure in early 2015, the remaining foursome devised a new sonic direction in less than a week, completed construction on a studio and assembled demos into their debut album, Horizon Line. The quartet claims influences like The Killers, Ryan Adams, Delta Spirit and My Morning Jacket, and it’s not hard to connect those dots to Future Thieves’ sound — heartland Alternative Rock made with soulful vocals, sinewy guitars, a solid yet supple rhythm section and a discernible edge.
Although they were not actually a part of any official showcases, Future Thieves was a big hit at last year’s South by Southwest festivities, which the band capitalized on with incessant touring. Earlier this year, the band released its sophomore album, Live at Blue Rock, then headed back to South by Southwest, this time in an official capacity. Two months later, the band embarked on its first European tour.
In a further example of Future Thieves’ incredibly fast evolution in a mere four years, the band recently debuted the video for a new song which will appear on its third album, slated for release later this year. “Sucker” maintains the band’s heartland Rock vibe while incorporating a few slinky ElectroPop grooves into the mix.
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This article appears in Aug 2-9, 2017.