Brittany Davis's 'Black Thunder' is a Powerful Musical Offering

“Ancestor veneration” has become a rising phrase in the public consciousness. What exactly does it mean? It's a concept that is not always simple to define. In layman's terms, it's about honor. However, honor's definition is whatever the person defining it chooses it to be.

In a time where Black art and accomplishments are under constant threat of being erased and challenged, it's always crucial to "give people their flowers," so to speak. And some contributions deserve an entire garden.

Now, Seattle-based artist Brittany Davis has emerged with a musical offering of her own. Described as a vessel of sound and channeler of music, Davis has released Black Thunder, an album that doesn’t just pay homage to Black lineage, but channels it with raw urgency and spiritual clarity. It's an album that's arrived at just the right moment.

A stripped-down evolution from her 2024 debut Image Issues, Black Thunder acts as a new sonic film, interlacing thought-provoking music with brief, yet haunting interludes titled “Ancestors” that root the listener in Davis’s inner world. Throughout the album, Davis channels her predecessors and also opens up about being a Black, blind, and non-binary artist navigating this complex world. As earlier described, Davis has the ability to paint with sound on a canvas that depicts her life. Image Issues was the first canvas. Now that Black Thunder is completed, it exists as a full tapestry of colorful storytelling and honesty.

The result is less a traditional album and more a manifestation which occurred at Studio Litho (located in Seattle) with Davis on keys and vocals, Evan Flory-Barnes on bass, and D'Vonne Lewis on drums. The trio's creative synergy, one that's rare to behold, is polished and showcases three musicians at their best. Flory-Barnes and Lewis are the key ingredients that created the album's jazz direction. For Black Thunder, Davis's sound is reminiscent of Nina Simone, Roberta Flack, and Rahsaan Roland Kirk. Additionally, Davis allows her skills on the piano to shine even brighter on her latest effort.

Black Thunder was produced by Josh Evans and released by Loosegroove Records.

With full creative support, Davis has emerged with a musical behemoth. With 17 tracks, Black Thunder is an odyssey of sound. "All That You Get" leads the adventure, with a song that discusses racial disparities and how in life you often "get what you get."

"Amid the Blackout of the Night" follows an "Ancestors" interlude and is a major centerpiece of Black Thunder as album's lead single. In "Amid the Blackout of the Night," Davis contemplates the existence of the cosmos and all of its various components such as the moon and the stars. The song is also a call to not get too distracted by beauty that you miss the substance beneath.

The title track fuses spoken word and is spiritually resonant. The heartbeat of the album, "Black Thunder," pours out ancestral pride and charts a path to brighter horizons. However, Black Thunder allows Davis to go back and forth between prideful and pensive as she transitions to "Change Me" and "Girl (Don't You Know)," two entries that vulnerably display some of Davis's challenges.

Tracks such as "Black Thunder" carry a more traditionally revolutionary tone, but what's also revolutionary is the ability to be honest. As Black artists, we are often expected to constantly be strong and inspirational, but we need to remind others that we are also... human. Davis's candor only strengthens her body of work. She continues to remain uplifting, but still allows listeners behind the curtain from time to time. Acknowleding the struggles is what leads to breaking generational curses.

Like the weather itself, Davis, Flory-Barnes, and Lewis change temperature. At times, they play low and slow like a steady trickle of rain ("Amid the Blackout of the Night"), then a tropical storm ("Black Thunder"), then they become a ferocious hurricane ("Sarah's Song"). Overall, Black Thunder is a unique and powerful listening experience.

"Sun and Moon" bookends Black Thunder with a celebration of life and the world that surrounds her. While earlier, Davis seemed more contemplative, at the end, Davis expresses gratitude. In a conversation I had with Davis, she mentioned that connecting with others through her music is what brings her light.

There's a light that's generated. When I'm able to hear stories and feel those stories happen right in front of my eyes or right in front of my senses, I should say, those lights, it's like a strike. It hits me directly in the heart. Where the light turns on, for once I can see. For once I know I'm doing my job. I'm not in the dark because I have the light of knowing that somebody, somewhere was impacted in a positive manner by something that God blessed me with to give. That's the light for me. It's not the sun...

Black Thunder is now available on all major streaming services as of June 13th. The vinyl LP is available to purchase via Bandcamp, through the official Loosegroove Records website, and through most local record stores.

Additionally, Davis will celebrate the release of Black Thunder with two events:

• June 14th at Easy Street Records, 7:00 p.m. (FREE)
• June 17th at The Rabbit Box, doors open at 5:00 p.m. Reception begins at 6:00 p.m., followed by live music at 7:30 p.m. ($18 - Tickets HERE)

Read the review for Brittany Davis's Image Issues.