Chicago’s guitar-driven power-pop band Time Thieves return with their second EP of 2025, If You Survive — out now. The release follows Come Home from earlier this year, forming the darker and heavier half of a two-part project that will culminate in a full-length record this winter.
Where Come Home shimmered with brightness and immediacy, If You Survive pulls that energy inward, channeling the anxiety and intensity beneath the surface of melody. The five-track EP trades crisp harmonies for grit and introspection, pairing tight, two-to-four minute songs with punchy guitars, driving rhythms, and lyrics that wrestle with survival, burnout, and acceptance.
Formed in 2015, Time Thieves began when Jonathan Pool and Mike Oberlin decided to step away from their punk backgrounds to focus on melody and songcraft. Inspired by acts like The Rentals, Grandaddy, OVENS, and early Weezer, they built a sound rooted in power pop precision but charged with punk urgency. With Annie Saunders on bass and Tim Reynolds on lead guitar, the lineup solidified into a crew of Chicago DIY veterans whose chemistry shows in every note.
If You Survive is both an extension and evolution of that foundation — recorded and mixed by Pool between Kildare Studios and his home setup, then mastered by Luke McNeil. The result is a record that feels immediate but lived-in, equally comfortable in distortion and melody.
Between Come Home and If You Survive, Time Thieves capture the full spectrum of their sound: bittersweet, electric, and steeped in the Midwest punk spirit without being confined by it. This second installment shows a band confident in contrast — writing songs that can crash through walls one moment and hum in your head long after.
Enjoy “Fool's Gold” below:
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