Wolfmother - Wolfmother Review
Posted by Tollah on 03.23.2006
A superb debut album from one of Australia's hottest bands.
The times, they are a-changing on the Australian music scene. Bands such as Powderfinger, Silverchair and Grinspoon are the veterans and are starting to look poor. Powderfinger's pub band antics were never anything other than catchy rock 'n' roll that gets old fast. Grinspoon have gone from dirty hard rock/punk to a very poppy, mainstream style with little depth. Silverchair have progressed from a grunge rip-off band to a more complicated musical outfit but their last album was nigh on 4 years ago.
Meanwhile, younger bands are taking Australia by storm. In '03 Jet conquered the country, '04 saw Eskimo Joe and Little Birdy achieve mainstream success, whereas half way through 2005 Wolfmother started really picking up pace due to their breakthrough single "Mind's Eye" (feature in this album).
"The Wolfies" can quite accurately be described as Jack White playing a Black Sabbath set. There's also some Deep Purple influence going on there with the riffs, jamming and organs. Throw in a little Led Zeppelin and Hendrix (in terms of songwriting rather than guitar playing), and you're somewhere near Wolfmother.
The album kicks off with "Colossal", a track which describes itself quite well in the title. A mammoth riff takes you through the song which hits warp speed on the 3:30 mark and rocks the fuck out. "White Unicorn" is another standout in a similar vein, and perhaps my favourite track on the album. The song switches between power chord and 'top 3 strings' riffs while singer Andrew Stockdale's vocals soar over the music. The breakdown in the middle of the song is reminscient of the type of thing that Zep would do.
The band show their more punky/indie side with tracks like "Dimension" and "Woman". They're fast, catchy numbers but they rock pretty hard. "Apple Tree" is another in the same style where the White Stripes influence really shines through.
There's also some ballads. The aforementioned smash hit single "Mind's Eye" is a powerful over-the-top number with a brilliant organ breakdown in the middle and a soaring, magnificient chorus. Sublime stuff. "Tales From The Forest Of Gnomes" recalls the Beatles fused with some 90s style alternative slow songs, whereas "Where Eagles Have Been" is another track which switches between clean balladeering and hard rock and includes a screaming solo.
The album finishes with two of its weakest songs, "Witchcraft" and "Vagabond". Kind of a sad way to fizzle out as I prefer it when bands have really strong and glorious finishers. However, it doesn't take away from the fact that this is a barnstormer of a debut, managing to fuse two completely different styles (early 70s hard rock/metal with modern toned down retro indie rock) with consumate ease. One of the best debuts of the 00s, Wolfmother are a band to watch.
The 411: Blistering album that will delight both fans of old school hard rock and the modern day indie scene.
