Most bands these days wouldn’t use a 19th-century Irish playwright as a focal point in their music. But for Chicago triumvirate Company of Thieves, Oscar Wilde remains a true inspiration.

Lead singer Genevieve Schatz says the band always has been fascinated by Oscar Wilde’s observations of society and how he handed them back to people in such a decorated fashion.

“He really poked fun at people in society and how they carry themselves and the way that they mask themselves with their insecurities and fears. I think he was always trying to show us how silly that was and how short life is,” Schatz says. “I really loved that about him.”

Without a doubt, the group has put its Wilde attraction on full display. Company of Thieves titled its debut album “Ordinary Riches,” taken from the Wilde quote that reads, “Ordinary riches can be stolen, real riches cannot. In the treasury-house of your soul, there are infinitely precious things that may not be taken from you.”

And there’s the band’s biggest hit song to date: “Oscar Wilde.” Armed with guitarist Marc Walloch’s sultry opening blues riff and a soaring chorus of “We are all our own devil/and we’ll make this world our hell” (taken from another Wilde quote), the song has given the trio (which tours as a five-piece band) “rising star” status in the alternative rock circle.

Schatz says the words of the chorus have stayed with her since she first read them.

“I realized that we make our own truths and that often we choose to feel how we do,” Schatz explains. “So if we choose to ruin our own lives ... it’s our own choice.”

Originally, the band’s record label wanted to release a more “traditional” rock song like “Pressure” as the band’s first single, but the band insisted on “Oscar Wilde” because Schatz says it is a quirky, true representation of all three of the group’s members. Plus, the song got a better response at several live shows.

“It’s just one of those songs where the second you hear that beat, you just want to move. It feels good,” Schatz says.

“When we were practicing it in our rehearsal space when we were younger, I would just jump up and down when we’d get to that song because it totally woke me up.”

While “Oscar Wilde” brought the trio to mainstream recognition, Company of Thieves is no one-hit wonder. Company of Thieves is a very fitting name as the band heavily incorporates elements of blues, jazz and folk into the rest of “Ordinary Riches” and Schatz’s singing style has drawn many comparisons to Regina Spektor and Bjork.

With Schatz’s throaty vocals, clunking piano rhythms and a smooth bass groove, “Old Letters” reminds many listeners why Fiona Apple was so popular in the late ’90s. The upbeat “In Passing” may prove to be too catchy to be ignored by radio listeners. And the new single “Pressure” provides an extremely personal look at the tension present in a bad relationship.

Schatz says “Old Letters” and “Pressure” were written when she was feeling trapped.

“When you look in the mirror or in your own life, you should never limit yourself,” Schatz says. “(Those songs are) about feeling totally caged by society or specific people that I’ve been in a relationship with before.”

Despite an arsenal of well-written, well-executed songs, Schatz says the band has faced some adversity. She says that because only a “small handful” of rock bands with female lead singers exist in the industry, she feels Company of Thieves sometimes gets pigeon-holed and filed away.

“People come in and they’re either going to love you or hate you. That’s it. It’s one or the other,” Schatz says. “But more often than not, I think people come and realize we’re coming from a very true, pure place and that connects with them.”

Before Company of Thieves heads back to the studio this spring, the band will perform with OK GO, Crash Kings and Paper Tongues at Afentra’s V-Day Party Feb. 13 at the Midland by AMC in Kansas City. Admission is free, but all entrants must be 18 or older. For more information, visit www.midlandkc.com or www.965thebuzz.com.

– Shea Conner | Stjoelive staff