National Music Reviews
Sunder
Self-Titled
Tee Pee Records
Street: 10.30
Sunder = Wolfmother x Pond
Thick, thundering guitar, powerful rock organ, valiant vocals and as much energy as can be contained in digital format—that’s about what I expected when I first read “French heavy psych rock” adorning Sunder’s debut release page. Sharp guitar fills, even sharper drum fills, and rhythms crazy enough to keep me on my toes made Sunder a worthy album. Every song seems to cover a lot of ground—riff after riff, I was consistently surprised to hear something new every measure. Perhaps the most amazing thing about Sunder’s first release is how akin it feels to a live performance—listening through the whole album is like embarking upon a journey. While, occasionally, I felt as though the band should push their technicality a little further, a killer guitar solo in “Bleeding Trees” and the aptly named “Thunder and Storm” were good proof of what Sunder are capable of. –Alex Blackburn