Growing up in a family of musicians and minsters, Hunter Plake’s path to his BEC Recordings debut took a few unexpected detours. As a teen, Plake led worship in his home church, even getting his GED his junior year of high school so he could attend ministry school. But it wasn’t until he auditioned for NBC’s The Voice that music became a possible career path. “A friend of mine, Koryn Hawthorne, had just gone to the finale on The Voice. I thought, well, if she can do it,” Plake says with a smile. He ended up placing fifth in his season, opening doors for him to pursue music full-time.
After a few years of recording pop songs, producing and trying to make a go of it in Los Angeles, Plake felt something missing in his life. In June of 2020, his nagging and ever-present sense of emptiness grew into a full-on collpase. “I hit a breaking point and had a total breakdown,” Plake says. “I hit the end of myself.” In crisis mode, Plake turned inward, writing songs between himself and God instead of performing for an audience. Those private worship moments eventually became the songs that make up Thunderbird, a debut collection of hope-filled, pop/rock/worship songs that redefine Plake as an artist. “This project gives people in the alternative world something to listen to but still know what the songs are about,” he says. “It’s not vague. It’s about Jesus, you can hear that.”
While Thunderbird’s lyrics weave a hopeful message, it’s the music that sets it apart. An amalgamation of the last thirty years of alternative rock, Plake’s musicality hints at The Killers, Foo Fighters, and Coldplay offset by worship-filled lyrics focused on a love that’s worth the risk. “When you create music, you end up creating from your influences,” Plake says. “This is me genuinely liking alternative music and praying at the same time. These songs are me crying out to the Lord and doing it with something that has a catchy melody and a style of music that resonates with me.”
First single “More In Love” sets the tone for the whole project. Plake’s earnest vocals perfectly complement uplifting pop melodies, a testimony to Plake’s shiny belief in things working together for good. “The main driving theme of this song is about not being hopeless, making the decision to not be hopeless and to fall in love with God.”
Wildly fun “West Coast Babies” showcases Plake’s alternative roots with guitar-driven carefree vibes. It’s a surprising mix, worshipful lyrics woven into a feel-good alternative tune, but it works. “I experienced a lot of let down in LA,” Plake says, “and was processing that but also processing how good Jesus is and how He is really all that I need.”
Laced with 90s ballad-rock inspiration, “27 Weeks” is a fresh love song for the 20s. Plake wrote it as a direct response to his mental crisis in 2020. “When I had a nervous breakdown, my wife was there for me throughout the whole process. She loved me when I couldn't love myself. That's what this song is about.”
Thunderbird is deeply personal while striking a universal note. With music that can carry you away intertwined with lyrics that keep you grounded, Plake’s debut is a shining example of a man who’s stepped back from the edge. “At the end of the day, if I have to choose between Jesus or something else, I’ll choose Him every time. That’s what changed for me. That’s what makes me excited. That’s why I wanna do music.”