Indie sensation Thunder Jackson is back, and he’s brought a raw, neon-drenched fever dream along with him. Ahead of his much-anticipated sophomore album Hello Stranger, out this Friday, October 25th via VERO Music, Jackson has just dropped a tantalizing video for “The Fever & the Dream.” The track captures the pulsing core of the album, which spans 12 tracks mixed by Grammy and ARIA Award-winner Eric J Dubowsky, whose fingerprints are all over the work of artists like Chet Faker, St. Vincent, and Louis the Child.
Directed by Jarod Evans, the video for “The Fever & the Dream” is an unapologetic dive into roadside motel sleaze. With Jackson himself and his father, a longtime Elvis impersonator, front and center, it’s a spectacle of blazing neon, down-and-out romance, and one seriously transformative performance. It’s a tip of the hat to Jackson’s Oklahoma City roots, where his father’s devotion to Elvis introduced a young Jackson to the world-shaking impact music can have.
Hello Stranger is as much a personal journey as it is a public unveiling. Recorded at Texas’s legendary Sonic Ranch and produced by Jackson alongside Taylor Johnson, the album is a vivid blend of his broadest influences. From the retro soul vibes of D’Angelo to the quirky experimentalism of Richard Swift, Jackson channels a soundscape that’s at once hauntingly nostalgic and strikingly original. The result is a kaleidoscope of sounds that feel both intimate and epic, ready to soundtrack the highs and lows of late-night wanderers and lost souls alike.
Across the album, Jackson unpacks themes of identity and the alienation of hyperconnected modern life. Tracks like the title song “Hello Stranger,” with string arrangements by Stevie Blacke, and “Steady Freddy,” already gaining traction on German pop radio, trace these explorations with addictive grooves and introspective lyrics. There’s even a nod to his BBC 6 endorsement with album opener “Spoonfed Desire,” a track that’s already scored airplay on Don Letts’ Culture Clash Radio.
Hello Stranger follows Jackson’s 2022 EP Take Me Back, which he co-produced with Ryland Blackinton (U.S. Girls, Cobra Starship) and earned the top spot as the NACC’s Most Added. The project spotlighted his collaboration with Australian producer Chet Faker and solidified Jackson’s ascent in the indie world, creating a buzz that has only grown since his 2020 self-titled debut. That first album, released in the pandemic’s early months, became a sleeper hit, racking up millions of streams and viral hits like “Love Sick Doctor” and “Guilty Party” despite a canceled tour with Milky Chance.
With Hello Stranger, Thunder Jackson seems ready to transcend the underground appeal that made him a cult favorite. The album’s singles, “The Fever & the Dream” and “Steady Freddy,” pack enough punch to turn any listener into a believer. This latest project isn’t just another album release – it’s the feverish dreamscape of a musician who’s been through the fire, emerging on the other side with stories to tell, neon-soaked visions to share, and a whole lot of soul.
