British hard rock legends Thunder will release new album ‘Dopamine’ on 29th April 2022 it has been announced.
‘Dopamine’ is Thunder’s first ever double-album, and consists of 16 tracks. The first single, ‘The Western Sky’, is available now and you can see the video at the top of this article.
Guitarist, songwriter and Thunder co-founder Luke Morley says: “’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.”
‘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,” says Luke, “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 album comes at the perfect time for Thunder, whose line-up for the last quarter-century and more has been Luke 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’ and releasing the acclaimed ‘All The Right Noises’ last year.
The album will be available in CD and double LP vinyl, with exclusive lenticular cover versions available only from the Thunder online store.
Thunder will also embark upon a UK arena tour in May 2022, including a date at London’s OVO Arena Wembley.
The track listing for ‘Dopamine’ is:
CD1 / LP1
- The Western Sky
- One Day We’ll Be Free Again
- Even If It Takes a Lifetime
- Black
- Unraveling
- The Dead City
- Last Orders
- All the Way
CD2 / LP2
- Dancing in the Sunshine
- Big Pink Supermoon
- Across the Nation
- Just a Grifter
- I Don’t Believe the World
- Disconnected
- Is Anybody Out There?
- No Smoke Without Fire
Catch Thunder on Tour in May at:
Saturday 21st May Glasgow SEC Armadillo
Sunday 22nd May Leeds First Direct Arena
Thursday 26th May Cardiff Motorpoint Arena
Friday 27th May Birmingham Resorts World Arena
Saturday 28th May London OVO Arena Wembley
