Thundercat is the stage name for Californian bass player extraordinaire Stephen Bruner, whose father played with legendary funk band The Temptations and brother is a Grammy award winning drummer. Impressive loins indeed. Thundercat is only a recent incarnation for Bruner as he picked up his guitar at the tender age of 4 and has been playing in various bands since he was 16, including stints with heavyweights like Snoop Dogg and Erykah Badu! He also counts LA producer Flying Lotus as a good buddy and collaborated on his acclaimed 2010 LP Cosmogramma, which no doubt resulted in him taking on production duties for this album.
It ranges from slow jam R’n'B to jazz freak-out and then back to somewhere in the middle, but despite this, his debut album The Golden Age Of Apocalypse sounds very cohesive. This makes it really easy to listen to from start to finish without the songs feeling like they are repeating themselves. My favourite song from it is For Love (I Come Your Friend), mainly because it reminds me of Outkast‘s classic slow burner Prototype. Another highlight, Is It Love? showcases Bruner’s soulful vocals, and with flourishes of horns, piano and a bass guitar solo, wouldn’t sound out of place on a compilation next to the likes of Al Green. The last track I’ll share with you is the electro strutter Walkin’, which sounds like a classier version of something Breakbot would make.
Thundercat – For Love (I Come Your Friend)
Thundercat – The Golden Age Of Apocalypse (WUpload link – open in new tab and click slow download)
Enjoy! Back soon!
Adso
