What curious people the Danish are. Thunderbear, through my knowledge of the innate complexities of foreign tongues, are a band from Denmark – but they’re not really a band; it’s just a group of talented musicians playing compositions.

It’s not so much ‘music’ here on Thunderbear’s self-titled release; it is compositions. Also you can’t call them ‘tracks’ either; only movements or pieces. That is not to say it is not wonderful however. It is, in a sense, like the music DJ Shadow would make if he was unable to play the turntables but was a great composer (and wasn’t all that into hip-hop). Thunderbear is not really Indie – just 5 contemporary compositions (but not contemporary in the bad way i.e. “contemporary dance”). Even though it contains only 5 compositions this is a full-length album: the average song is between 7 and 10 minutes long – the outsiders being a 3:30 minute and a 25:18 minute composition.

Thunderbear is to be avoided by those who like to connect with their music on many levels – those who like music that they can’t ignore; lyrics they can listen to; song titles they can slip into conversation and pretend are their own pearls of wisdom. This album is so good that i often forgot I was listening to it. It became the background music for my life and, in turn, my life became more interesting. While listening through headphones on my way to work one day it would seem that people would look at me specifically on crescendos; this music pulsing through my head would colour my interpretations of those around me. As far as i can tell, it is because i was listening to Thunderbear that it has become so absurdly cold and overcast lately. One may jump to the conclusion that I’m being slightly melodramatic in reference to the power of this music; it turned my life from mundane to that sort of mundane on celluloid mundane. I now know how Zach Braff must feel everyday except without the incessant whining and the frightening realisation that he is fast becoming our generation’s Alan Alda in the latter portion of the M*A*S*H television series.

But... Thunderbear isn’t flawless. ‘Bonde?’, the aforementioned 25:18 minute song, would have served more constructively as, at the very least, 4 songs. There are sections of ‘Bonde?’ that are lovely, moving sections of music (the first two minutes, the 16 minute mark to around the 21 minute mark, and, to a lesser extent, the 9 minute mark to the 14 minute mark) but overall it is longwinded and many parts are counterproductive to convincing an audience that these long, whimsical compositions can constantly engage. It is a shame too; ‘Bonde?’ could have easily been segmented into, although shorter, far more poignant compositions. It’s not that they would have to remove these sections of music that i find particularly off-putting; just separate the tracks on the CD so I can skip that which i don’t like. Otherwise, I may as well have received this album on cassette tape.

Thunderbear is not for everyone; this is obvious from two pieces of information:
* It has only five songs
* It is 56 minutes and 41 seconds long

It shouldn’t be avoided for these reasons. It is the sort of album that is so easily written of as a terribly self-indulgent piece of “art” (i guess quotation marks mean sarcasm) and this would be a terrible shame. It is a truly groundbreaking album; groundbreaking in that way where a group mimics styles from bygone eras (Thunderbear, it seems, have just gone back further than most). The production is lush, the instrumentation is brilliant, and the musicianship will drive you into a jealous rage. It’s a fabulous album with some little sections that are rubbish but, truthfully, that happens on even the best of albums. Don’t avoid Thunderbear because of the long songs, the difficult concept, and the fact that under the bit that holds the CD there is a cartoon picture of a wang. Yes the Danish are a curious people but it is almost an embraceable quality.

--

For an added bonus here are the song titles and their internet translator translations:

I Grunden Er Afgrunden Grunden = By The Way Is The Precipice The Reason

Pas På Du Ikke Falder I! = Beware You Are Falling To No!

Hvor Du Kan Bunde = Where You Can Be The Bottom

Bonde? = Peasant?

Røv = apparently has no english translation

Translations by InterTran

For extra fun try translating the English phrases back into Danish. This will help you to see how flawless this translation system is and assist you in your ambition to speak in tongues.