T.H.U.M.B. (Primordial Echoes For Modern Bigfoots) CD
T.H.U.M.B. is another band from Italy to follow the tradition of heavy rocking bands with a slight 70s edge. Contrary to other fellow country mates, they do not follow the progressive paths though. The 70s influences do emerge mostly in the spacy, psychedelic moments in their groove-laden Stoner Rock, such as for example in the wafting opening of 'Wear It Out. The three-piece presents their craft in 12 tracks spanning approximately 55 minutes, while showing that they can write a good, almost 7 minutes long song as well as nice short songs like 'Lived Namow' which just clocks in at 2:04 minutes. This tune does not only stand out on this album, due to its shortness but also because it's a nice rootsy kinda blues number with harmonica, acoustic guitars and percussion.
In general though, I have to admit that T.H.U.M.B. is as original as most other bands who use fuzzy guitars and lo-fi blues solos, laid-back, effect-enhanced vocals and the typical groovy Stoner riffs. But I can say if you cannot get enough of Stoner Rock than these two Italian guys and a girl as well might have something going on you would enjoy. Sure, some riffs are sounding as if you had already heard them before. But you will hear them again. So, it does not really matter as most songs are solid as rock and heavy as stone, whether they are slow and rather long like 'Wear It Out' or more straightforward, mid-tempo rockers such as 'Road Song'.
And for those of you with a dose of humour, we get a song called 'East Clintwood', where the bluesy acoustic guitar and harmonica return for the sonic refinement of this groovy little bastard. Unfortunatly this album has no real big hits. The closest song to that would be the aforementioned 'East Clintwood' or 'Into The Deepest Green'. That psychedelic rocker goes somehow down very well with me. Perhaps because of the addition of synthesizers that would remind of Hawkwind. Be that as it may, T.H.U.M.B. have released a good album in the form of 'Primordial Echoes For Modern Bigfoots'.
(Thorsten Frahling)