Storms Surge & Swell As Thunder Bring Back The ‘Wonder Days’

After six long years of waiting patiently, twiddling thumbs and weathering the repeat button on the CD player, the time has come for the languishing Londoners to finally reclaim the title of Thunder and make a very satisfying come back with their tenth album release, ‘Wonder Days’.

The rock and roll veterans may be short of rhythm guitar member Ben Matthews due to illness, but that does not mean their renowned sound has dampened in any way from the distinguishable seventies melting pot of juicy guitar licks and charismatic vocals that tamed the hearts of the ever-loyal fans that still idolise them to this day.

Altering and experimenting with their finely-tuned repertoire here and there on certain songs, the quintet take the risk of bringing a new style into their music that can only be described as blending the timeless vigour of southern rock infancy with their traditional power ballad style. It is a re-assuring note in the medium, when a band who has accomplished so much can still find the boldness to experiment in the studio instead of simply tightening the harness on the safety net.

Although situations of shameless love lost and found are still a hot topic, an attention-grabbing twist of reminiscing a seventies childhood between the members brings about a renewed interest. From the pubescent wardrobe malfunctions and first experiences of ‘Wonder days’ to the frustration of just needing that Friday feeling in ‘I love the weekend’, the lyrics verbally illustrate the groups background stories and feelings at that age that most teenagers experienced.

The get-up-and-go attitude in the tracks themselves however, seems to have slightly diminished through time. When playing the compact disc, the listener is overcome with not only a great satisfaction in hearing new material, but also a slight loss of an adrenaline-fuelled injection which is supposedly what most Thunder fans would demand. On the other hand, this is not necessarily a negative observation. With age comes maturity and similar to a fine wine, the members have moulded and polished their technique through the time given of writing ‘Wonder Days’, and released a compilation of songs which may not receive the same reception from the youth culture as it may have done in the nineties, but will prove to be a respected and valued addition to the bands already infamous back catalogue.

Regardless of that being the case, Thunder have returned with a clap and a bang to the music scene to take some good old fashioned spit-shine to their title and re-establish themselves to a generation who may have missed their chance to be properly introduced.

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Words by Nathan Roach

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