Sometimes as a fan of a band you get attached to certain line ups and when line ups change it can be a bit hard to get used to, Thundermother is (if you take out of the equation random brief members) now on their third line up change with the one constant being founding guitarist Filippa Nassil and returning bassist Majsan Lindberg.
I’m not going to go into the break up of the prior line up, You can look into that yourself if it interests you. But what I will say is that it took me a bit to adjust to the new line up and once I approached this as a almost wholly new band I was able to get into this album and appreciate it on its own merit.
“So Close” starts things off with a southern rock riff before that AC/DC influence kicks in that this band is known for, Or at this point I should say Filippa is known for as the main musical architect of Thundermother. This song has a 70’s swagger to it and picks up the thread from where Thundermother left off on Black And Gold, I think at this stage I would say it’s not productive to compare former singer Guernica Mancini to current singer Linnea Vikstrom Egg. But what I would say is she does the job well enough on this album. She definitely fits the style of this band and between Claire, Guernica, and Linnea Thundermother has lucked out in finding singers that can rock and have a softer side as well with enough vocal power to take Filippa’s songs to the heights they need to hit. A great start to the album.
“Can’t Put Out The Fire” again, starting things off with a 70’s style riff and the band grooves while Linnea brings some bouncy soulful vocals with good gang vocals chiming in between her singing, This one seems tailor made for a live show, I could almost see a choir of background singers backing the band on stage on this song. It’s not a very long song but it’s an energetic anthem that does what it needs to in the time it has.
Next up is “Speaking Of The Devil” which for my money is the best song on the album by a mile, I’d put this one up against any of the songs on Heatwave. This song just charges in with something to say and i would guess is in reaction to everything that happened in the wake of the falling out of the prior line up. The guitars mean business, the rhythm section charges and Linnea sings with power and attitude, This was the song that sold me on this version of the band.
“Feeling Alright” goes a bit 80’s soft rock, a slower tempo track that I think allows for each part of the music to shine through, A decent song in its own right. It kind of sounds like a fusion Bryan Adams and a dash of Tina Turner. I’d call this a pallet cleanser that does something different and it only adds to the album.
“Take The Power” picks the pace back up with another hard rocker and Linnea sounds slightly like Liv Jagrell from Sister Sin with the harder edged vocal delivery she’s displaying on this track. Drummer Joan Massing and bassist Majsan Lindberg really drive the music of this song.
“I Left My License In The Future” is another one of the stand out songs on the album that if my memory serves me correctly was the first single, Majsan starts off with an almost Judas Priest bassline before the guitars go slightly AC/DC meets Tom Petty. The verses might be slower tempo but the chorus is hard hitting and energetic, Vintage Thundermother. Filippa does a great guitar solo on this song.
The beginning of “Dead Or Alive” reminds me a bit of D-A-D (the band Disneyland After Dark for those of you who don’t know) much like the last song the verses are slower and vocally a bit more restrained before kicking things up several notches on the chorus, I love the slightly bluesy guitar solo Filippa does here even if it’s brief.
“Can You Feel It” has a great 70’s groove that fits somewhere between Aretha Franklin and AC/DC, I feel like this is one of those songs that would’ve been something you would have seen a band perform on TV back then.
“Bright Eyes” is another track that is vintage Thundermother and would’ve fit well on their prior two albums. A bouncing bass line and muted guitar riff plays over a stomping mid tempo drum beat, There’s a danceable quality to this song. A song that confidently professes lyrically come be with me, I’ll be good to you.
The album ends with “American Adrenaline” which has a frantic pace that during the verses kind of reminds me a very slight bit of “Ballroom Blitz” by Sweet, Though this song is a lot more energetic than that one and becomes even more so at the chorus, another great rocker on the album.
All in all this is a strong album and if you can put comparisons to prior iterations of the band aside and rate this album on it’s own merit you’ll find a record with some really strong songs, Dirty And Divine is another worthy entry in a great catalog.
8/10
