Under Archway, the debut album by London based trio Dear Thief, is a haunting collection of songs telling tales of sex, death, homelessness and civil war. In lesser hands such vignettes might sound laboured, but these well-crafted songs and sounds inspire repeated listening.

Yusuf B’Layachi (guitar/vocals), Emma Bennett (bass) and Tim Greany (drums) recorded this debut album with John Hannon (Understand, Woe, Liberez) at No Studios in deepest Essex over a period of several months. Through their idiosyncratic sound the band flirts with numerous surprising influences including The Lapse, The Fall and John Coltrane.