Star Tribune review of "A Long, Long Walk"

Chris Riemenschneider at the Star Tribune posted this review in his column.

Thunder's second strike

Building on the promise that they're not like any other band -- at least not in the Twin Cities -- woozy and swaying piano-rock band Thunder in the Valley has come a long, long way on its second CD, "A Long, Long Walk," which it's promoting tonight at the Turf Club.

A whopping 12 guest musicians are credited on the disc, and you can really hear them all. Songs like "Altar" and "John Ray and Mary Brown" are full of rowdy horn parts and/or warped strings, and "The Wealthy Skeleton" even employs the musical saw. Throughout, the band's booming choruses seem to range in size from three singers to 30.

There's so much going on, the disc often sounds like a crowded piano bar in some Eastern European small town. Singer Graham Smith doesn't get drowned out, though, coming off like a cross between Robert Smith and Tom Waits (seriously) in "So the Story Goes" and other bouncing gems. I told you the band wasn't like anything else in town.