Jeff/Soundmind Graphics – cover layout design.Prastowo Aklisugoro – engineering and mixing.Habil Kurnia – keys, engineering and mixing.Azhar – bass, vocals, additional guitar.Jeff – guitars, vocals, keys, additional bass.The original cassette tape version was released in August 1999 for the Southeast Asian market only by Indonesian label THT Productions, but according to the band the original release date of the CD version was pushed forward to July 2000, when it was released on Fleshwalker Records, and then THT Productions released the CD version in February 2001. After recording, the band faced additional problems with releasing the album. Overall, it took almost seven months for the band to record the album. This resulted in chaotic production quality, as the band had to reset the sound and mixing levels each time it recorded. Because of the budget problems, the band could not book the studio ahead of time, and had to use left-over time from other band's recording sessions. The band had almost no budget, and encountered problems with 16-track analog tape recorder that it was using. Thumper links Website | Facebook | Twitter | InstagramĪll words by Robin Boardman.Embrace the Dead was, according to the band, the most difficult recording session for any of its albums. Suffice to say, they are destined to play in front of much larger Mancunian crowds once the word is out. As Oisin’s songwriting to date has been mainly inward-looking, there’s a whole world out there to dissect with his acerbic outlook. With a style which is not so much about virtuosity, but more a collective aural bombardment, the signature soundscape is firmly established and there will be greater freedom to experiment further. Either way, it will be fascinating to observe how the band now progress musically and lyrically whilst maintaining that cutting edge. Which is the veneer and which the reality is anyone’s guess. Thumper have hit on a captivating formula – songs of overwhelming self-doubt delivered with swagger and confidence vulnerability behind an impenetrable shield of sound. We’re then treated to the deceptively sugar-coated pop of (You’re Bringing Me) Down as the short set draws to a close and people start to drift off to catch the last train from Piccadilly. Manchester is a must play destination for established bands, but with so much competition, there is always the danger that up and coming acts will go under the radar and Thumper deserve better.Īs the curfew is pushed back later and later, The Loser, a short but not so sweet examination of worthlessness, hints at a recurring theme of songwriter’s impostor syndrome “I can’t relate to half my songs, who gives a lonesome fuck”. The disappointing turnout is surely no reflection of the talent on display. He certainly displays no sign of the aforementioned ‘delusions of grandeur’, referring to the “twenty five people from Manchester” in attendance as he introduces album opener Fear Of Art. Frontman Oisin Leahy Furlong could hardly look less like a conventional rock star dressed as he is in jeans, boots and a Matrix t-shirt, but he still demands attention with the ferocity of his performance and the humour of his interactions with the audience. We are presented with a further trawl through the highlights of the debut album with Greedy Guts slowing the pace followed by the manic nightmare intensity of Overbite. The effect is completed by the frenetic presence of the band, at once totally unchoreographed but highly engaging, with constant motion on stage and guitarists happy to wander into the crowd to check out the sound or simply mingle. The secret to their sound is that they never forget the melody a wall of noise interlaced with indelible earworm hooks and choruses. Followed by the catchy 25 which describes the onset of a premature mid-life crisis, Thumper present a sonic barrage with three guitars, two drummers and bass. When proceedings eventually get underway with opener Topher Grace, a brooding litany of self-loathing, it’s worth the wait. A broken string during Dead Cherry’s sound check, a false start for Body Water due to a silent guitar then a prolonged wait for the headliners with much toing and froing around the mixing desk, resulting in a slightly hurried set. And it appears the gremlins are out in force tonight. It’s as if Halloween has arrived early as Cerys and Eli from Body Water take the stage scantily clad in black, to deliver their intriguingly gothic and macabre ditties about dastardly plots, murder and ghosts. There are de rigueur hints of The Fall’s influence in the half-spoken, half-sung vocal delivery, but they are far from being copyists. Engaging Mancunian trio Dead Cherry start things off with their punky tales of political intrigue, drinking and being skint, backed by searing guitar, pounding rhythm section and feedback aplenty.
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