Will Buck releases “Thief in the Night”

Songs with the word “night” in the title always seem to trigger an immediate reaction for me. The daunting chords in “We Only Come Out At Night” from Smashing Pumpkins still resonate. Years later I’m still lost in the swirl of “Night Swimming” from R.E.M. Let’s not forget “Hard Day’s Night” from The Beatles, or Corey Hart’s “Sunglasses At Night”. I could go on and on, but for now I highly encourage adding “Thief in the Night” from singer-songwriter, Will Buck, to any listener looking to add to their musical collection.

Based in Los Angeles, California, Buck’s backdrop of open skies, nefarious characters and an eclectic mix for storytelling gives “Thief in the Night” a first-hand recollection song. He sings of casinos, dragons and shaking in his bones all to crushing guitar riffs so solid they could knock off John Mayer himself from his pretentious throne. Buck plays the guitar with fluidity and as a listener I felt like there was just a little bit of improvisation going on; I felt intrinsically connected to that guitar! Buck’s meandering story and fantastical night journey is one thing to behold. It truly is. But, he really shines in the music bed. The drum work and bassline steals the show, as does the aforementioned guitar skills. So much of this song has the musicality and interesting turns that I haven’t heard in some time; I’m sure there’s some indie bands out there that are making waves and Buck’s influences are likely in range of 60s pop, and even 80s synth, but Buck manages the overall “feel” of this song very well. It’s modern sounding and falls down a rabbit hole of crazy turns and yet very solid rock-pop foundations.

Lyrically, he doesn’t dive too much into lovey-dovey stuff. He’s really focused on his wandering through the desert story. I found his point-of-view to be both entertaining and solid imagination. Listeners wanting deeper-meaning lyrics might have to look elsewhere, but I found “Thief in the Night” to hold my attention just fine. The mood that he creates is one of wonder and excitement; he’s also pretty slick and there’s a sensual fire burning in the wee hours. Not that I was waiting for a gnarl sound, or him singing in a swooning manor, but he’s in total control of this song and it’s delightfully decadent.

Now that you’re still trying to think of more songs with the word “Night” in the title (did you add “Night Moves” from Bob Seger, “Night Fever” from the Bee Gees or “Another Night” from Real McCoy?), and might be for the rest of your night, I will leave you to discover a new artist, Will Buck and his “Thief in the Night”. High marks for young Buck.  Songs like this is why we keep writing about indie music – he gets it and this song gives you that hope that creativity is alive and well. And, in Buck, it seems to be in great hands. He may sound a bit young, but he sure pulls off a well-versed track.

Michael Rand