Despite breaking up twice over the course of three decades, Thunder is still around and more miraculously, they continue to release material that is comparable in quality to what is considered their classic material. On ‘All The Right Noises’, guitarist Luke Morley continues to be one of the greatest post-seventies songwriters in British hardrock while the musicianship on the album is nearly impeccable. The pop metal sensibilities Thunder once had have completely vanished, but as long as they keep on making rock ‘n’ roll this energetic with hooks that refuse to leave your memory, that should be no problem.

Some Thunder albums stand out due to their tight songwriting and lean heavily on their strong melodies as a result. ‘The Magnificent Seventh’ and their excellent comeback ‘Wonder Days’ are prime examples of this. ‘All The Right Noises’ is not one of those albums, but it is an album that is lifted to a significantly higher level by its spirited performances and its near-perfect production. Danny Bowes is simply a force of nature. His voice has not deteriorated one iota since the band’s earliest releases and he convinces with his powerful chest voice once again here.

The soul influences that became quite prominent on ‘Rip It Up’ are further expanded upon on ‘All The Right Noises’. The bluesy British rock is still front and center, but you can practically hear the imaginary horn arrangements on the likes of ‘You’re Gonna Be My Girl’, ‘Young Man’ and the powerful opener ‘Last One Out Turn Off The Lights’ without even trying, while the female backing vocals contribute greatly to the soulful exuberance of the choruses. Where ‘Rip It Up’ failed to capture that energy all the way through, however, ‘All The Right Noises’ succeeds. This is enhanced by the rhythms, which appear to be ever so slightly more playful this time around.

Having said that, the highlights on ‘All The Right Noises’ are the songs that are slightly different from the formula. The fantastically titled ‘Don’t Forget To Live Before You Die’ is carried by a really cool groove and has a great tension build-up, climaxing in a pounding riff that brings Whitesnake’s ‘Judgement Day’ to mind. ‘The Smoking Gun’ is one of those folky, yet still kind of rocking songs that Thunder truly excels at, while ‘Destruction’ is made a stand-out by its exciting sense of darkness. It’s a dynamic track in which tense verses and a suprisingly heavy riff enhance each other.

Not unlike ‘Wonder Days’, ‘All The Right Noises’ is another piece of evidence that Thunder is still a relevant band with excellent songs in an era during which many of their peers are solely driven by nostalgia. They don’t quite transcend themselves as much on the songwriting front as on ‘Wonder Days’, but Thunder hardly ever sounds this powerful on studio recordings. Normally, one would have to put on one of their many live releases to capture the full energy that Thunder harbors, but it’s fully present on ‘All The Right Noises’, therefore justifying its title.

Recommended tracks: ‘Don’t Forget To Live before You Die’, ‘Destruction’, ‘The Smoking Gun’