The Top 100 Songs of 2011 -- #74: "Death of Communication" -- Company of Thieves

When it comes to female-fronted rock bands of 2011, I'll think of two -- Kentucky's Sleeper Agent, who we'll talk about later in the countdown, and Chicago's Company of Thieves. Both broke out on college rock radio with catchy singles that highlighted frontwomen Alex Kandel and Genevieve Schatz, respectively.

It's been a rough few years for females in unrelenting, unrestrained rock, but both Kandel and Schatz seem to be ushering in a new era for the lovely ladies of rock music. For Company of Thieves, it was "Death of Communication" that established this notion.

The song is straightforward rock -- a good fit for the band and its record label, Wind-up. It follows the usual verse-chorus-verse-chorus-solo-chorus format, and its instrumentation is reminiscent of the hardest-rocking of indie rock acts.

To be fair, Schatz is what makes the band. With a different female singer (or certainly a male singer), "Death of Communication" may not have been as strong. Behind the song's driving beat, Schatz howls at what seems to be a friendless aggressor.



"Death of Communication" establishes Company of Thieves as a band to watch over the next few years. From a listen to both this song and their newest album as a whole, one can tell the band has a high ceiling of potential.