Thundermother: Heat Wave

OK, I’m late to this party. Thundermother are four albums old and have already had major upheavals along the way that found guitarist Filippa Nassil abandoned by the rest of her band and having to restart the storm in her Thundermother. And that’s exactly what seems to have happened, with this outing a proud proclamation of rock and roll. The recipe is simple - record some riffs that have clearly been hidden in the AC/DC vaults, add a slice of Joan Jett sneer and a Lzzy Hale-alike vocal snarl from Guernica Mancini and hey presto its time to sweat in this Heat Wave.

With a name like “Loud And Alive�, you know that this album’s introductory blast is going to be a straight up rocker and while it might just be a little too blatantly vintage AC in its DC for some, if you want a crunching riff and foot stomping beat, then you’ll not do much better than what you get right here. “Dog From Hell� updates the sound somewhat, a Halestorm burst of energy infused into what is still a Young brothers inspired twist of the knife and yet with a big gang chorus and infectiously likeable heart, you can’t help but be swept along by the whole damn thing. Proving that these girls can also put their peddle to the metal, “Into The Mud� laughs in the face of festival weather, because Thundermother will rock your world no matter how deep your knees are in the brown sticky stuff and don’t you forget it!

With a rasp and bite, Mancini is a revelation, dragging you by the lapels into her vocal clutches and refusing to let go until she’s melted your face and rocked your world. However it’s the riffs that are queen here, “Driving In Style� once more fusing a remarkably memorable chorus onto a rock and roll runaway, whereas “Mexico� plays it cool with a bluesy boogie that you might not have anticipated this band could pull off. They can, they will and they bloody well do!

With my standard jewel case edition of the album only containing ten tracks, the journey is over all too soon, but a quick click of the clackety-keys over at YouTube reveals that the three bonus cuts to be found on the extended versions of this album are no throwaway afterthoughts. “Ghosts� forged in the darkness of Back In Black as cymbals punctuate every snare smack in the swaggering chorus and the whole rhythm rumbles the earth below your feet. With “Somebody Love Me� adding extra helpings of a punked up Joan Jett to the mix, it’s “Bad Habits� that adds an almost country like twang to the tried and tested recipe that serves this band so well.

There are no surprises on Heat Wave whatsoever and you know what? I still love it. Sometimes what you need is to rock your roll and Thundermother know how to do exactly that!

Track Listing
1. Loud And Alive
2. Dog From Hell
3. Back In ’76
4. Into The Mud
5. Heat Wave
6. Sleep
7. Driving In Style
8. Free Ourselves
9. Mexico
10. Purple Sky

Added: November 21st 2020
Reviewer: Steven Reid
Score:
Related Link: Thundermother online
Hits: 911
Language: english

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