Thumper
Introducing Dublin’s Thumper; photographed by Lucas Garvey Photography.
Like the lineage of icons & idols from Oscar Wilde, Phil Lynott, to Kevin Shields, & more; Dublin, Ireland has retained the world title of pop culture provocateurs as purveyed by Little L Records‘ roster. Proof of this is heard from locals Thumper, who release their Magnum Opuss EP today, following up 2014’s self-titled EP & premiering the charbroiled-charm of “Chimera”. Introducing the band lead by Oisín Leahy Furlong in conjunction with mates Brendan, Joey, Bev, Stevie; Thumper crank out a controlled cacophony that squalls reels worth of feedback that blares & blasts with a purpose.
For those late to the Thumper party, Furlong & friends focus their talents and energies on making a kind of sound that makes the entire world stop/drop what they’re doing and take notice. “Chimera” is the kind of mythic beast that keeps America’s legions of garage aficionados looking to the UK, & obsessively reading the NME for some sort of sign of something new, exciting, revolutionary, and outright inspiring. Taking the form of the two and a half/three minute infectious rocker, Thumper expertly defy the odds and gravity of the modern convention by extending and expanding the grunge art form to astronomic proportions. This is an audio event not to be missed.
Also check out the Gareth Walsh live performance video for Thumper’s “rent is due”, where their skronk-saturated aesthetic gives way to the most incredible pop hooks heard around Ireland. The blazing riffs bring about some of the most revolutionary things heard on the other side pond that we hope find their way to the ears of the west coasts’ Colleen Green, John Dwyer, Tim Presley, Ty Segall, Mikal Cronin, & more.
Oisín Leahy Furlong from Thumper was kind enough to chat with us about the new EP in the following interview transcription:
Describe the jump from last year’s self-titled EP to Magnum Opuss.
That first EP I essentially recorded in secrecy. I had had really bad writers block for about a year and a half and recording that EP was just an exercise to get myself out of that. Recording everything myself meant that I wasn’t worrying about what band members thought of the tunes, and in a round about way releasing it under a moniker meant I wouldn’t be held accountable for how it was received. But in doing the project I became confident in the tunes and got a band together anyway!
A year later, we’ve done loads of gigs, written loads of songs, and gained a small following. the main challenge for Magnum Opuss was to keep the rawness of the first EP but do justice to the new songs, which are more complex in arrangement and sound etc. I’m still terrible at recording and mixing but the songs are what are important, it doesn’t matter if the cymbals are a bit harsh in the mix if I’ve managed to get the energy across.
Did you set out with the intention to make your magnum opus in making this EP?
No way! I was taking the piss about the fact that I felt pressure to follow up the first EP with something that was absolutely amazing…but then I was like we have 200 likes on Facebook… no one really cares. All the pressure was internal, so I just rode that and did the best I could.
What is the story behind the name, beyond the possible Bambi allusion?
Well I guess our music is characterized by being scuzzy and lo-fi etc, but once you strip away the abrasiveness each tune is actually just pure bubblegum pop. Likewise, the name Thumper sounds aggressive and macho, but it’s actually the name of a little bunny from a Disney cartoon…
How do you approach that melodic & scuzzed out balance with your music?
I’ve been in so many bands that labored over what their sound was, and tried to run everything we did through that concept. That was the whole reason I got writers block in the first place—because I was constantly second guessing everything I was writing…is it poppy enough? Is it scuzzy enough? etc.
These days when I write the songs I just make sure they feel great and I’m proud to sing them, and when we play them as a band it’s the same thing. For some reason it just works so we don’t think about it too much!
What’s good in Dublin right now?
So much! Girl Band, Otherkin, Bitch Falcon, Fangclub, Joey Gavin, Handsome Eric, Vameel, Beach, Stephen James Smith, Pete Pamf, Æ MAK, Too Fools, Vernon Jane, Big Monster Love, Meltybrains?, Stephen Star, M(h)aol, etc, etc, etc…
Thumper’s Magnum Opuss EP is available now via Little L Records.
