‘Reality Bites’ is the third single from the long awaited debut album by London based power trio City Of Thieves, entitled ‘Beast Reality’, which is released on 12th October.
The band state: “We’re so excited to get this single out. It’s one of the most unique songs on the album and was the last written for it, so much so we were actually still finishing it when we went into the studio. We had the chorus and it was so catchy we knew we couldn’t leave it off, so included it on our ‘A’ list even though it wasn’t finished!”
The single also boasts a memorable video, of which they say “We have a great history of making videos with Loop TV. We had a meeting where we ended up talking about our favourite movies. We had so many films in common that we constructed a universe for the video which contained nods to some of them. We wanted to make something where the band always played the main protagonists, so we all appear as different characters in every scene and the video features four alternate worlds with varying degrees of dystopian degeneration based on various technologies. We hope people will watch it several times to catch all the Easter eggs we’ve hidden!”
The buzz began spreading about City Of Thieves as soon as they made their initial debut in 2015, with early Planet Rock Radio playlist support for a now deleted EP release plus festival slots at the likes of Ramblin’ Man Fair, Bloodstock, Camden Rocks, Hard Rock Hell and Planet Rockstock.
Initially a four-piece, they slimmed down to a power trio of core members before entering the studio
to record ‘Beast Reality’, which sees the band working with Toby Jepson (Little Angels, The Answer,
The Virginmarys). Singer/bassist Jamie Lailey praises the acclaimed artist/producer, explaining that:
“we knew what we wanted to do and could have released a ton of material out of the gate. Toby took what we had and refined it. I’m glad we sat back and digested things with him, as it was a major turning point for the band. With Jepson at the helm, Mike Fraser on mixing duties and mastering by Simon Francis (Kodaline, Kaiser Chiefs, Primal Scream), the group’s first full length record was in the best of hands.
Having confirmed autumn shows in London and at Hard Rock Hell XII in Pwllheli to promote the album, City Of Thieves are also lining up a national support tour to be announced shortly.
All three group members also have successful music related business interests outside of the
band, with drummer Will Richards running the London Drumstick Company and bassist
Ben Austwick and Lailey founding Team Beats Ltd. Lailey has also become a regular on the
poker scene, playing tournaments and cash games in some of London’s top casinos. His Instagram
features videos and shots of casinos all over the world, from London to Manila to Macau.
Live Dates:
LONDON The Big Red
PWLLHELI Hard Rock Hell XII
LONDON The Big Red
CITY OF THIEVES
Jamie Lailey – vocals / bass
Ben Austwick – guitar
Will Richards – drums