Following the Choice Music Prize nominated debut album Delusions of Grandeur (alongside the likes of CMAT, Fontaines DC, The Mary Wollopers and Dermot Kennedy), acclaimed Dublin alt-rockers THUMPER return with the rousing new single ‘Bad Mood’ (26th Sept).
A blistering surge of riff-driven fuzz and raw intensity, ‘Bad Mood’ marks the third in a string of singles for 2025. From its opening moments, the track charges forward with unrelenting energy with punch drums and jagged guitar lines propelling the verses beneath commanding, evocative lead vocals. Breaking into a soaring chorus, the verse’s sense of tension gives way to a melodic lift, a surprisingly catchy and cathartic release .
Speaking about the single, Oisin Furlong Leahy, frontman of the band added: “I’ve got the moon on my mind, now I’m dreaming in slogans”
I once worshiped the sun, now I take my cues from a screen. My phone alarm wakes me, and I’m being sold something within seconds. Am I a relic of the past or a victim of the present? Bad Mood weighs the human experience against the black mirror in my pocket. Boiling the mental health conversation down to a glib soundbite. “I’m so sorry but you’ve caught me in a bad mood”
Speaking further about the recording process of the track: “The song was recorded with producer Rian Trench in rural Donegal, in a cottage that we converted into a studio. We built a control room in the sitting room, and ran cables into the various bedrooms for guitar amps, even using Alan’s van to house the bass amp outside (as the volume inside the house was making the fillings in our teeth come loose). The double drums were then recorded in Attica Studio in Donegal owned by Tommy McLaughlin ( Soak, Villagers, Ailbhe Reddy). There was no signal, no wifi, no distractions – just friends making music together.”
Since 2021, THUMPER have gone from playing small hometown shows to touring Ireland, UK and Europe extensively, as well as becoming regular features at Irish festivals, appearing at the likes of Electric Picnic, All Together Now, Indiependence, Other Voices, etc. The band feel right at home on festival stages around the continent too, having made appearances at big name European festivals such as Mad Cool (ESP), Reading & Leeds (UK), Iceland Airwaves (IS), Haldern Pop (DE), Rock For People (CZ), Eurosonic (NL), Reeperbahn (DE), United Artists Prague (CZ), and many more.
The band’s debut album Delusions of Grandeur received extensive press support (The Line of Best Fit, Hot Press, Nialler9, Distorted Sound, Goldenplec, Louder Than War to name a few) and landed them a nomination for Irish Album of the Year at the RTÉ Choice Music Prize. THUMPER received UK and international airplay across BBC 6 Music, BBC Radio 1, Radio X, KEXP, Kink, Kerrang! as well as Irish stations such as RTÉ Radio 1, 2FM, Today FM, Beat102103 among others. They have also made noteworthy TV performances on RTÉ’s Tommy Tiernan Showand Other Voices and secured numerous Spotify and Apple Music editorial playlist placements and cover features.
The new single ‘Bad Mood’ is set for release September 26th.
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THUMPER – Bad Mood
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