By Connor Adam
This band landed in my inbox after a few cans on a Monday night to review and I was blown away – transported into a Friday night. It gave me feels like I was in a dingy venue bobbing along but I was actually in my bedroom with a few cans of cheap lager, but I couldn’t tell the difference because I was half cut and my mind was instantly lost in the track.
It’s got all the elements to be a part of the West Coast garage rock scene with bands like FIDLAR and Wavves but evidently the punk scene in Ireland is booming – We’ve heard of Fontains D.C, Otherkin and The Murder Capital and I’m sure we’ll be hearing a lot more from Thumper this year too, who are evidently on the come up with the massive single “Tropher Grace”.
The narrative is clear from Thumper in this track; “Topher Grace” is a tale of self-destruction raged by sex and alcohol. It’s noisy, droning and powerful, a track certainly not for the faint hearted. Singer Oisin delivering lines; “I hate myself and want to live, I want to love, I want to give, I want to take and be taken care of.” & “I hide in bars. I drown in words. It seems absurd that I’m lonely. Make a safe bet – If I left, this party continues without me”, really pushing the dark topics twisted up in this tale.
You have the droning and repeating psychedelic guitar hypnotizing you really allowing the storyline to sit on top of the track allowing for the powerful vocals to come through to send the message. The layers of feedback, noise and reverb really give the track a lot of depth and keep it interesting to the ear. There is fuzz all over this track from head to toe, its super gritty and greasy making B.R.M.C look like Black Rebel Bicycle Club.
Topher Grace is hard to ignore as a Garage Rock hit as it ticks all the boxes. The song radiates emotion; it is gritty, dirty and it’ll take you on a ride from start to finish.
The Music Files 