Thunder's 'All the Right Noises' - Album Review

The early 1990s British hard rock scene is still probably one of the best-kept secrets in the wider rock world. Bands like The Quireboys, Skin, Little Angels, The Wildhearts, and The Almighty all made waves here in the UK throughout the early 1990s - but the scene never really found much success outside of the country. With grunge and alternative rock really booming at the time, it is perhaps not a surprise that global recognition was hard to come by. There is still a lot of love here in the UK for the scene however, and The Quireboys and The Wildhearts are arguably as popular as they have ever been at the moment. Perhaps the band that has found the most success from that glut of bands however is London's Thunder - a five-piece hard rock act who have an extremely dedicated fanbase and a string of great albums to back it up. Despite breaking up in 2009, the band reformed two years later and have not really looked back since. A couple of tours put the band back on the map, but it was 2015's Wonder Days (which I reviewed here) that really launched the band back into the relative big time. I listened to Wonder Days a lot when it came out, and it remains one of my favourite Thunder albums. I did not think that the band would release anything as strong as 1990's Backstreet Symphony or 1992's Laughing on Judgement Day again, but Wonder Days really came close. Two years later the band followed it up with Rip It Up (which I also reviewed here), a slow-burner of an album which is a strong collection of songs - but certainly not the rip-roaring good time that Wonder Days was. I get the impression that Wonder Days was Thunder re-establishing themselves, while Rip It Up was the band branching out a bit and experimenting. I listened to Rip It Up a fair bit around its release, but it is not an album that I have revisited much of late. It never hit the mark for me in the same way as Wonder Days, and it lacked the big hooks that many of the songs on that 2015 album have. It took the band four years to follow Rip It Up, not counting 2019's acoustic re-workings collection Please Remain Seated, but last month the band released their thirteenth album All the Right Noises. Probably delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic, considering the fact that the final recording sessions for the album wrapped up in January 2020, All the Right Noises is another very solid album from the five-piece. In many ways, it picks up where Rip It Up left off - and takes the more slow-burning hard rock sound that the band forged on their 2017 album further and refines it. It is an album that opens up quicker than Rip It Up however, and there are a few anthemic hard rock tracks included that hark back to the sound that made Wonder Days such a hit with me. The balance struck throughout between carefree rock and a more serious approach is what makes All the Right Noises a compelling listen however and the album really is a hybrid of the band's last couple of efforts - which is helped by a rather dry production. Like Rip It Up before it, All the Right Noises also reached number 3 on the Official UK Album Chart - continuing the band's recent run of respectable chart positions.

Despite the similar overall approach to Rip It Up taken here, All the Right Noises starts with a bang. Last One Out Turn Off the Lights is the sort of song that I feel Thunder excel at and the hard-hitting, hooky hard rocker is a great way to kick things off - and it is one of the band's best recent songs in my opinion. While the song's main riff does sound similar to a certain Led Zeppelin classic, it is a track that instantly creates a strong energy. Guitarists Luke Morley and Ben Matthews team up for the song's stop-start riffing, which often drops out to give frontman Danny Bowes space to sing, while bassist Chris Childs does his own thing with some snaking counter melodies. On the surface, the song feels like quite a basic hard rocker - but it is the sort of song that is actually more complex and well put together than it seems. Childs' bass playing particularly helps the song to stand out, and the hooky chorus is made better by the use of female backing vocalists (Beth Blade, Carly Greene, Julie Maguire, and Katy Burgess) singing the main hook - while Bowes responds in an old-school rock and roll fashion. It is a powerful track, and a perfect way to kick off the album. Destruction opens more slowly; with a subtle, bluesy guitar pattern sitting in the background to drive the opening moments in a percussive manner while Bowes croons over the top of it in his ageless style. The song is one that moves back and forth between heavier sections, and moments more akin to the sparse opening, with tough-sounding riffs often crashing in to add some weight to the piece. That said however, the core of the song remains fairly low-key. The organic opening section is never too far away, and the heavier riffs never outstay their welcome - with the bluesy basis of the song often returning to allow Bowes to sing in a raw and unimpaired manner. The organic sound featured here is a natural continuation from the sound established on Rip It Up - but with more of an old-school blues vibe. The backing vocalists are again used to great effect, adding a great soulful ending, while the song overall revels in its rawness. The Smoking Gun continues this sound on somewhat, but it takes a bit more of a warmer approach with a Zeppelin-esque acoustic-based groove allowing the song to build up naturally and slowly - creating a dark atmosphere as it does. While Morley and Matthews' acoustic guitars help to create this atmosphere, it is Bowes that shines here. He sounds as good vocally here as he did in the early 1990s, and his bluesy croon is perfect for the song. Subtle keyboards, wah-drenched guitar leads, and simple percussion are slowly added to the mix as the song progresses - but the simple basis of the song is never lost. Going to Sin City gets the album back on heavier territory, with an anthemic hard rock sound that is enhanced with subtle brass (courtesy of Andrew Griffiths) and some strident riffing. While perhaps not as in-your-face as the album's opening cut, Going to Sin City still feels like good-time hard rock. There are dirtier, bluesy grooves here however that give the song more of a 'bump and grind' feel - with Morley's organic production and Harry James' hollow-sounding drums beefing everything up. In many ways this is a song that perfectly encapsulates the modern Thunder sound - with hooks and a more organic approach coming together nicely.

Don't Forget to Live Before You Die is another hard-hitting, but memorable, track that opens in a fairly dark manner with a pulsing Childs bassline and some mournful vocals from Bowes. This is another song that has a strong old-school blues vibe throughout, with the guitars moving back and forth between crunchy rhythms and effects-heavy melodies - all while the band's rhythm section lock in perfectly for a consistent punch throughout. While the song is perhaps not as hooky as some of Thunder's best tracks, the consistent grooves here make the song stand out. The bluesy strut throughout is infectious, and there is something engaging about Bowes' vocal performance - which is raw and emotive. Throw in a strong guitar solo, and the song is another winning cut on the album. I'll Be the One is more of a ballad, with a slow-burning piano opening and some more emotional vocals from Bowes. Thunder have done a lot of strong ballads in the past and, while this one is not as memorable as many of their best, this is another good one. The Bryden String Quartet add their talents to the track, adding subtle strings that perfectly back the piano melodies - while further depth is added by more intricate bass playing from Childs. While Bowes shine again vocally, the best moment here for me is the lengthy guitar solo. Sadly the album's booklet does not credit each guitar solo, but the effort here is perfectly in-tune with the mood of the piece - and enhances the overall mood significantly. Young Man is more of a riff-heavy piece, with a hooky opening riff forming the basis of the track - with this toughness setting the tone for the rest of the song. Many of the songs here feature quite a lot of light and shade; heavier sections often dropping out to reveal a more low-key underbelly; but this is one of the few tracks here that is pretty much riff-based at all times. Despite this however, the piece still feels at home on the album - as the organic sound used throughout is still present in the song's liberal use of Hammond organ during the choruses and the prominence given to James' hollow drums. This is one song however that might have benefitted from a brighter production overall, with the dryness here perhaps limiting the power of the riffs. This is the sort of song that will probably really come alive on stage as a result - and I can see it becoming a future live favourite with its all-out rock approach. You're Gonna Be My Girl, funnily enough, does have a bit of a warmer sound - and as a result it sounds like a song that could have been on one of the band's early albums. It feels like a throwback piece of fun hard rock, but the band have always excelled at such a sound. Squealing guitar leads and a jaunty piano backing keep the song ticking, while the ladies add to the warmth with their soulful vocals - which are the perfect counter to Bowes' strident frontman antics. It is one of the simplest songs here, but as a result it is one of the easiest to get into. A number of songs here see the band trying hard to hit a certain sound, but You're Gonna Be My Girl is one of those effortless hard rockers that Thunder have always managed to conjure up - and long-time fans will love it.

St George's Day slows things down a bit, but the warmth from the previous song is maintained with a strong keyboard presence throughout and layers of clean guitar melodies. Like I'll Be the One the song is a ballad, but there is more of a bluesy rock approach taken throughout. The rhythm section add a subtle groove throughout, and the song still has a big sound despite it being a ballad. As a result, there is something of Whitesnake's first few albums in the song's sound, with Bowes' soulful vocals and lashings of Hammond, while a couple of lengthy guitar solos are packed full of memorable melodies that perfectly cut through the dense mix with their razor-sharp notes and tone. Force of Nature, like The Smoking Gun, opens with a Zeppelin-esque acoustic groove - but unlike The Smoking Gun the song builds up considerably as a it moves along. Dry electric guitars soon double the acoustic strut, and it is not long before the song explodes in a big way - with heavy riffing replacing the acoustic guitars entirely. This is another song that is likely to become a live favourite going forward, as it has a great classic rock mindset throughout - and some wordless vocal hooks that are sure to draw the listener in. While the song lacks a big chorus, which is a bit of a shame, the song excels elsewhere - with the riffs and overall energy being really infectious. While it is lazy to compare a rock band to Led Zeppelin, there is certainly a lot of that band's approach to groove and structure here - and that is a reason why I believe the song will be a live favourite in the future. The album comes to a close with She's a Millionairess, a relatively short, but fun, hard rocker that recalls the album's opening number and a few of the songs found on Wonder Days. The song's electric piano opening sets the tone, and it has a jaunty vibe throughout - with James' upbeat drumming and and a hooky chorus helping to keeping the interest. In fact, the chorus is easily one of the album's most instantly-memorable sections. The ladies once again add their vocal power to the piece, their soulful melodies joining forces with Bowes for a big sound - while the electric piano adds some boogie to the background. It is another song that is not particularly complicated, but it adds a great sense of fun to the album's closing moments. Thunder are a fun band on the whole, but much of this album (and Rip It Up) goes for a more serious sound and style overall. Songs like She's a Millionairess are important then to add a bit of levity to the proceedings, and remind everyone that Thunder's core sound over the years has been one of upbeat bluesy hard rock. Despite this, All the Right Noises still excels despite its more serious approach. In my opinion, it is a more well-balanced album than Rip It Up - with upbeat rockers sitting nicely side-by-side with more serious, organic pieces. It is an album that the band's fans are sure to enjoy, with the variety throughout allowing a lot of different sounds to be covered.

The album was released on 12th March 2021 via BMG Rights Management (UK) Ltd. Below is the band's promotional video for Last One Out Turn Off the Lights.