ALBUM OF THE WEEK: Thunder - Wonder Days

For a band who said they were packing it all in some years ago, Thunder have been remarkably busy.
THUNDER: WONDER DAYS. See PA Feature MUSIC Music Reviews. Picture credit should read: PA Photo/Handout. WARNING: This picture must only be used to accompany PA Feature MUSIC Music Reviews.THUNDER: WONDER DAYS. See PA Feature MUSIC Music Reviews. Picture credit should read: PA Photo/Handout. WARNING: This picture must only be used to accompany PA Feature MUSIC Music Reviews.
THUNDER: WONDER DAYS. See PA Feature MUSIC Music Reviews. Picture credit should read: PA Photo/Handout. WARNING: This picture must only be used to accompany PA Feature MUSIC Music Reviews.

The English hard rockers’ last studio album, Bang!, may have been back in 2008 but it hasn’t stopped the quintet performing live. There was The Union in between but now, here, Danny Bowes, Luke Morley, Gary ‘Harry’ James, Ben Matthews and Chris Childs are back with a new album of original material. As before, the band’s stock-in-trade hard rock is well in evidence but tempered with blues and a fine ear for melody. Danny Bowes’ voice is still top in the genre and the songwriting is up there with the best of their catalogue. With its sharp production, Thunder’s tenth album rocks along, fresh but still in the classic rock mould. The band still have the chops to show how it’s done, and on this form they should be around for quite a while yet.