While Lip Critic were touring their 2024 debut album Hex Dealer across the U.S. , vocalist Brett Kaser’s banking information was stolen by an obsessed fan. After noticing that one of the items purchased was the entire Lip Critic discography on Bandcamp, Kaser was later confronted by the fan at one of their shows, who claimed to have decoded hidden messages in their music. Rather than report the thief, the band interviewed him on his theories, using them—in ways they haven’t fully elucidated—for their new record, Theft World. “I would sell my soul just to have that thing I can’t pin down,” barks Kaser on “Drumming With Izzy.” His confetti-blast lyrics cover all sorts of thievery: Shoplifting, the predatory gambling industry, his heart being stolen. But this line really captures how it feels trying to make sense of this inscrutable and slippery album, which at once feels like a thief evading capture and an impenetrable vault. No score yet, be the first to add.…