Just when you thought it would go back to where it came, garage rock is back – here in the form of an EP by Thunders, a band from Indianapolis, Indiana. In Germany, we call this “Schweinerock” which roughly translates into “pig rock”, but without any negative connotation.

What you hear in Thunders’ music is obviously some Michigan rock (MC5, Stooges), but also some bluesy heavy rock (Led Zep) and some of the less dreamy shoegazer stuff (Jesus & Mary Chain). I could also name some of the garage rock bands, which crowded the music scene a few years ago, but it doesn’t add any helpful comparison to the ones given above. “The Sympathetic Oscillation EP” is quite heavy work with noisy passages, tons of guitar soli and old-timey blues harmonies. The songwriting is not really spectacular, but also not bad, although the songs “83” and “Theif” sound almost identical.

Thunders reach their peak with the slow and long “Somnabulist” which has a hollow noisy feedback background, a really good melody and sort of the same stoner vibe as Oneida had on “Secret Wars”. When the guitar and brass solo starts around the four-minute-mark you’re already in stoner heaven, but that 90-second-solo adds exactly the little extra bit to take it over the edge. The EP ends with the softer “Letter to the Priest” which is also not bad, though played a bit sketchy. After all, “The Sympathetic Oscillations EP” is really quite enjoyable for a debut and could lead to great results on the next record if Thunders follow the right roads and abandon the wrong ones. 6/10 -- Stephan Bauer (11 March, 2009)