ALBUM REVIEW: Dirty & Divine – Thundermother

February 8, 2025 Charlotte Griffiths

Swedish hard-rockers, THUNDERMOTHER, are back with their newest record Dirty & Divine. In the two years since their last album, the quartet have undergone a line-up change with this release being the recorded debut of new members vocalist Linnea Viksröm and drummer Joan Massing, something which founding member Fillipa Nässil is proud and very excited about, describing it as the band’s best work to date.

A strong statement to make, although it does fall flat when we open the record with So Close. It has everything that should make it great: a strong classic rock sound, confident vocals and anthemic harmonies during the chorus. However, where it struggles is how you can tell it wants to give high energy yet there’s something holding the band back from giving their all, like an itch that can’t be scratched. It’s even more frustrating when you can clearly hear influence from high energy rock songs of the 70s and 80s, especially with the vocal riffs, yet it never quite hits.

This problem continues on the next few tracks with Can’t Put Out The Fire that, whilst having a nice bluesy feel, still doesn’t quite hit, especially during the spoken word section where Linnea creates a conversation of sorts between her and the harmonies yet it doesn’t quite work as the full confidence isn’t there. This is again seen on the next track, Speaking Of The Devil, where once again we hear how strong the vocals are and yet we once again feel like there’s something holding them back. It’s frustrating. Luckily, this is when things pick up and we finally reach a solid piece when we get to the chorus.

From this point things go up and we finally hear that high energy and strong chemistry that they clearly wanted to emulate and yet couldn’t for the first three songs.

Whilst maybe not the must standout classic rock styled album, it still has fun moments to sink your teeth into like Feeling Alright, that’s reminiscent of THE DARKNESS’ I Believe In A Thing Called Love that is full of energy aggression and stunning guitar solos to get you excited; and I Left My License In The Future, that truly captures that 70s rock influence with it reminding you of THE RUNAWAYS with this fun, anthemic track.

Dirty & Divine has its ups and downs, but it is still a record you can have fun with and stick on to give yourself that little confidence boost to get through your day. And for that reason, it is worthy of your attention.

Rating: 6/10