Thunder announces double 'Dopamine' album

Project due Apr 29th via BMG

Icons of British hard rock, Thunder, have announced their new album, Dopamine, will be released on April 29th. Dopamine is Thunder’s first ever double album, and consists of 16 tracks – something that is resonant with the album’s themes. The album will be available in 2 CD and 2 LP, with exclusive lenticular cover and signed versions available only from the Thunder online store.

“We didn’t set out to make a double album but as the writing and recording process went on we wandered into some interesting areas and then it became a case of ‘can we afford to leave any of this off?’ In the end we did reduce it from 20 tunes to 16 but it wasn’t an easy choice,” says Thunder guitarist, songwriter and co-founder Luke Morley.

Satirical and urgent but never downcast, Dopamine was inspired by the world’s mass retreat to social media during the pandemic lockdowns, endlessly hunting for the next hit of happy hormones.

“I read a fascinating article by an American psychologist,” Morley shares, “who said that social media forces us to become dopamine addicts. We’re validated and liked on social media, which releases the dopamine – and so we get addicted to it. We take more and more selfies in the hope of more and more validation, and the album cover reflects this. People are surrounded by amazing things that they’re missing because they’re so self-obsessed. Of course, you’ll have to get your hands on the physical album to see all of the amazing things I’m referring to.”

The new single and first taste of the album, “The Western Sky,” shows that despite the rallying against instant gratification, sound-wise Thunder are as immediate as ever. The razor-sharp, riff-driven track celebrates the band’s annual trans-American charity motorbike trip.

The new album comes at the perfect time for Thunder, whose line-up for the last quarter-century and more has been Morley and Danny Bowes (singer), plus Ben Matthews (guitar and keyboards), Chris Childs (bass) and Harry James (drums).

They’ve been riding a wave of success since their 2015 comeback album Wonder Days, releasing the acclaimed All The Right Noises last year. The record went Top 3 in the UK Albums Chart, an incredible feat for a British hard rock band into their fourth decade. Globally, it was one of their most successful albums to date. Giving them their first top 10 in Germany and Switzerland; their highest chart entry in Japan, Belgium, and Austria; and for the first time they charted in markets including France and Spain.