Mothman and The Thunderbirds share new concept album “Portal Hopper” - which melds elements of prog metal and dream pop
Mothman and The Thunderbirds are back and soaring to new heights on their sophomore album Portal Hopper. This new installment is a concept album that sees the band melding elements of prog metal and dream pop.
The central theme of the album is escapism, and the eventual escape from escapism. The 12 tracks follow the eponymous portal hopper’s journey out of the natural world and into a series of surreal worlds accessible only by portal. Being granted access to the portals by the dubious Flatwoods Monster, the portal hopper meets a variety of cryptids in these strange lands. The hopper’s journey eventually leads to the Squonk Kingdom, where homely creatures hold access to the only space station able to reach the Akashic Records, a compendium of all knowledge past, present, and future. Overwhelmed with the burden of infinite knowledge and a finite mortality, the portal hopper journeys back to the natural world to make peace with an earthbound fate, but must face the Flatwoods Monster in battle to gain freedom.
Portal Hopper is an eclectic mix of adventurous prog, thrilling hard rock, and dreamy psychedelia. Whether it’s the anthemic “Ruby Skies” and “Polygonal Polliwog”, the shoegaze-inspired “Liminal Spacetime Continuum”, the astral funk of “Fractals”, the whimsy of “Squonk Kingdom”, the folksy bounce of “Somewhere In Time”, or the bizarre yet irresistible “So Long (Portal Hopper)”, Portal Hopper is an album that will keep the listener on their toes while maintaining a strong sense of cohesion.
Portal Hopper will be available on all streaming platforms on July 12th, 2024. The album is recommended for fans of Devin Townsend, The Armed, Astronoid, Moon Tooth, Torche, Fang Island, Ringo Deathstarr, and Hum.
Tracklist:
1) Ruby Skies
2) Polygonal Polliwog
3) Flatwoods Monster
4) Liminal Spacetime Continuum
5) Fractals
6) Squonk Kingdom
7) Akashic Records
8) Escape From Flatwoods
9) Somewhere In Time
10) The Zaratan
11) So Long (Portal Hopper)
12) Attic
Credits:
Alex Parkinson - lead vocals, backing vocals, guitars,
bass, synths, vocoder, drum programming
Egor Lappo - guitar solo (track 5), mixing, mastering,
production, drum programming
Joe Sobieski - lead vocals (verses of tracks 4 & 9),
backing vocals (track 5)
Sam Parkinson - guitar solos (tracks 8 & 11)
Music written by Alex Parkinson. All lyrics by Alex Parkinson, except for tracks 4 & 5, which were written by Alex Parkinson & Joe Sobieski. Guitar solo for track 12 written by Joe Sobieski, all other solos were written by their respective soloists.
Mothman and The Thunderbirds is a rock and metal project from Philadelphia, PA that explores themes of cryptids, oddiƟes, and other curiosities. The band was formed by Alex Parkinson in 2020, and released the single “Nomad” later that year. In May 2021 the band released their debut album Into the Hollow, followed by a cover of CKY’s “96 Quite Bitter Beings” later that year. In October of 2022 the band released a split EP with the death metal band World Eaters, and in June 2023 Mothman and The Thunderbirds released an EP Ɵtled Gazer. The band’s sophomore album Portal Hopper will be released on Jul 12th, 2024.
Initially started as a prog and sludge metal project, Mothman and The Thunderbirds’ sound has spanned multiple subgenres throughout their releases (doom, thrash, space rock, prog, shoegaze, folk, and more). On their 2024 album Portal Hopper, the band leans further into otherworldly sounds in a style that can best be described as “dream metal” - an eclectic mix of adventurous prog, thrilling hard rock, and dreamy psychedelia.
Mothman and The Thunderbirds was iniƟally started as a one-man project, but the band’s releases have always featured collaboration in some form. The band’s debut album was self-produced by Alex Parkinson, but since then the band has brought on producer Egor Lappo to handle mixing and mastering duties. Their new album Portal Hopper brings back previous collaborators Joe Sobieski and Sam Parkinson on a few tracks, and also features a guitar solo by producer Egor Lappo.
