Blog Post
Thundermother - 'Heat Wave Deluxe Edition (2CD)'
Iain McArthur • 1 June 2021
Album Review
‘Dirty, dirty, dirty, dirty bad-ass chicks’. That’s how these four rock-grenades from Sweden describe themselves in a live version of “Hellevator” and they’ve certainly got that balls-out attitude and a fine selection of hard rocking, kick-ass tunes to back it up. They’ve even got their own brand of beer!
This is a re-release of last year’s Heat Wave album with an additional disc featuring some great bonus tracks and live songs plus some acoustic bits and special guest appearances. The original album stands up on its own as a party-hard romp featuring great songs like “Loud and Alive”, “Driving in Style”, “Dog from Hell” and “Bad Habits”. It’s actually the band’s fourth album but their first with an all-new line up assembled by original member and band-leader Filippa Nassil. Newbies Emlee Johansson and Majsan Lindberg lay down a rock-solid rhythm section but Guernica Mancini grabs the attention on vocals. She brings power and even a bit of a bluesy edge on tracks like “Somebody Love Me”. Her showcase track is the one ballad “Sleep”. You might detect a tiny hint of valley-girl therapy speak in it – perhaps because Guernica trained at the prestigious Musicians Institute in LA. There’s also an acoustic duet version of it with Jesper Binzer from D-A-D.
There are four excellent bonus studio tracks. The riffy “You Can’t Handle Me” is the pick of a good bunch while band-boyfriends Dregen and Pontus Snibb pop up on “Rock ‘n’ Roll Heaven” with its unmistakable Bonafide-style intro.
“The Road Is Ours” sets out their stall as a fun and powerful live act. The ensuing three-song live section is outstanding, particularly when going down like Steven Tyler in “Hellevator” on which Filippa excels and even chucks in a bit of James Bond theme music. “Give Me Some Light” starts with ‘Alright people, let’s get this f*cking party started’ and I reckon that’s exactly what they’ll do when they hit the UK later this year – kicking off at Bannerman’s in Edinburgh on the 22nd September. They’ve got Welsh witches Haxan plus Beth Blade and her Beautiful Disasters along for the ride so that should be a hell of a tour.
Check out some of their fun videos on You Tube then buy the album and grab tickets for the tour. There’s even a brand-new UK FB fan group for you to join; Thundermother Fans UK & Ireland