Thundermother's Heat Wave: not a death rattle but a battle cry

Strikingly hooky return on Heat Wave from regenerated Swedes Thundermother

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Thundermother - Heatwave
(Image: © AFM)

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When four-fifths of Thundermother quit in 2017, leaving founder/ guitarist Filippa Nässil distinctly short-staffed, it seemed like curtains for the Swedish rockers. 

So surprisingly, fourth album Heatwave is not a death rattle but a battle cry, with the regenerated line-up all throwing in songs, and hooks that hang around longer than crabs on a tour bus. 

You can’t exactly call this stuff original. Back In ’76 sets out Thundermother’s stall as hopeless nostalgists, curating their record collections (mostly AC/DC) over a stomp borrowed from Joan Jett’s I Love Rock ’N Roll. But you can’t deny it’s catchy.

Opener Loud And Alive has a heart-skipper of a chorus. Into The Mud sounds like The Ballroom Blitz having its bollocks twisted, and even when they clink the Zippos for the throwback power-balladry of Sleep the songwriting nous carries them through.

Henry Yates
Henry Yates

Henry Yates has been a freelance journalist since 2002 and written about music for titles including The Guardian, The Telegraph, NME, Classic Rock, Guitarist, Total Guitar and Metal Hammer. He is the author of Walter Trout's official biography, Rescued From Reality, a music pundit on Times Radio and BBC TV, and an interviewer who has spoken to Brian May, Jimmy Page, Ozzy Osbourne, Ronnie Wood, Dave Grohl, Marilyn Manson, Kiefer Sutherland and many more.