Listening to the debut album by French band Sunder, the most obvious signpost isn’t an older band like Blue Cheer, Iron Butterfly, or Uriah Heep, but rather new band Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats. The same swing, the same reliance on ’60’s accouterments like Farfisa and mellotron, the same dark lyrical themes. However, what sets Sunder apart from Uncle Acid and other practitioners of occult/psychedelic heavy rock is the singing, which eschews detachment in favor of genuine emotion. When Julien Merét belts out his lead vocals, you feel it.
“Inspired by the cold weather, ‘Daughter of the Snows’ was written in the winter,” the band says. “The main riff and the drum beat work together to give this song its swing.”
Sunder will be released 30 October on Tee Pee Records.