Moral Panic

Album: Moral Panic (2020)
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Songfacts®:

  • Nothing But Thieves wrote this song about global warming. They penned the tune around the time the grassroots climate change movement Extinction Rebellion was hitting the UK headlines with their protests.
  • At the start of verse two the track transitions from the slower 110 beats per minute of the first verse and chorus to a faster, 146 BPM instrumental with heavier drums. Guitarist Joe Langridge-Brown explained to HMV: "The song was quite early in the process and it's a weird song for us. It's pure experimentation and got this big tempo shift. Not a typical song for us. But the title does absolutely sum up the album, all the tension people are feeling."
  • Nothing But Thieves named their third album after this song. Asked by The Sun why the band chose "Moral Panic" as the title track, singer Conor Mason replied: "It summarizes everything we were trying to say on the album. The album hinges on the effect the pressures of the modern world and the information age have on us. It's about people."
  • Mike Crossey (The 1975, Arctic Monkeys and Wolf Alice) produced the album. Crossey also helmed the band's second album, Broken Machine.
  • Moral Panic was Nothing But Thieves' third consecutive Top 10 album in the UK, peaking at #3.

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