Since his return to the business, Thunder has become a sure value. Proud of their principles, the British quintet continues to release their albums against all odds, refusing to let themselves be confined in a too reductive style. If "All The Right Noises" could be interpreted as dealing with the pandemic, the new album entitled "Dopamine" focuses on one of the great evils of this century: individualism and withdrawal. The cover showing two people taking selfies is the best illustration of this.
A quick reminder: dopamine is recognized as the happiness hormone and some specialists consider that our society has become dependent on it. Obviously very inspired by this subject, the members of Thunder have composed enough tracks to offer the first double-album of their career.
And as usual, the quintet takes the listener through many stylistic landscapes, while regularly returning to territories privileging direct riffs and catchy choruses. In this genre, songs like 'The Western Sky', 'The Dead City', 'All The Way' or 'Across The Nation' crush everything in their path. But Thunder is a band that can't be locked up, either physically (their biker trips are famous) or artistically. Why do it when you can see his talent to offer songs as moving as 'Unraveling', 'Just A Grifter' or 'Is Anybody Out There'? It would also be a shame to try to prevent him from surprising when he is so talented in his jazzy style ('Big Pink Supermoon'), when he goes on flowery and euphoric paths ('Dancing In The Sunshine'), when he unleashes irresistible grooves ('Disconnected') or when he demonstrates his mastery on more ambitious works whose intensity progresses unstoppably ('No Smoke Without Fire').
Once again, the risk-taking pays off and Thunder manages to offer a captivating and varied work. The few slight s in intensity are quickly compensated by a multitude of gems as effective as different from each other. As one of the best tracks on this album says, 'One Day We'll Be Free Again'. Thunder offers us this freedom and shows it to us with this "Dopamine" which it would be a shame to miss.