Wolfmother. A three peice rock outfit with influences from the mighty days of rock, Led Zepplin and Black Sabbath. Throw in a bit of Kyuss, some massive sideburns and an afro and you get Wolfmother. For over a year they've had their 4 track EP circulating and virtually by word of mouth its become sold out and now a treasured item in the underground.
The end of October saw the release of their highly anticipated self titled debut album 'Wolfmother' from these Sydney dudes, and boy does it deliver. The album brings back all the tracks from the EP and throws in a stack of new ones, including the brilliant Mind's Eye.
Wolfmother are:
Andrew Stockdale - Guitars/Vocals
Chriss Ross - Bass/Keyboards
Myles Heskett - Drums
Track 1 - Colossal
Some quick kick drumming bring in the guitar for the opening track. A track about a goddess 'Colossal Girl' and a world of magic, the guitars bring in the apropriate aurora. The simle guitar works well here. Some dark keyboard work brings in the catch riff and the chorus. Two Thirds through and the song jumps up a notch, the tempo increases and the energy pumps up as the guitar trumbles along. Very Solid opening track.
4/5
Track 2 - Woman
Woman brings forth the high energy, pumping rock that is Wolfmother. Fast guitar work and ripping bass and very nice drum work show of this as one of the highlights of the album. "When You're Talking To Me, See Right Through Me, I Got The Feeling of Love". The song features a nice, very oldschool rock and roll Keyboard solo. This track is very catchy and highlights all members of the band. This track featured on the EP.
5/5
Track 3 - White Unicorn
White Unicorn also featured on the EP, but at 7 painstaking minutes it has been shortened down to about 5 for the album, but it still packs a psychedelic punch. White Unicorn shows off some of the bands influences with a Zepplin like chorus. The guitar works very nicely as Stockdale dances around the bottom three strings. 3:10 in and the song goes into trippy mode, a whole lot of crazy, mellow sounds take you back to the 60's. The drums and guitar quickly pick up again over the keyboard and the White Unicorn dances back into the chorus. Amazing Song.
5/5
Track 4 - Pyramid
Feedback and other guitar noises bring in this heavy track as the bass riff picks up. Pyramid shows of the Sabbath and Zepplin influences. Nice verse work of only bass and drums with the lyrics, the guitar saved for little mini solos between the verses and chorus. Stockdale kind of makes a whineing sound over the guitar here, but it works well. "I Saw The Light Shine Out Today, And It Told Me Your Not The One For Me". A nice nice nice guitar solo makes you wanna air guitar on your speakers as Stockdale shows of his guitar skills. The bass picks up again as the solo stops, and we go back into some distorted chorus. Great Track
4/5
Track 5 - Mind's Eye
The first single of the album and it is a mighty one. Mind's Eye is a very good track to showcase Wolfmother's song writing ability and their instrument skills. It starts off with some gentle keyboards, and a slow guitar with some gentle drums. As the lyrics start, the guitar strums them through simply but melodicly. Then the guitars starts up hard and into the chourus "Come And See The Mind's Eye! We Can Find It If We Try", the simple guitar riff here works very well. The song slides back into the gentle verse mode, and then eventually back into the chorus, and then we are treated to a mind blowing Chriss Ross keyboard solo. Very Cool stuff here. As the solo goes on, the guitar thumps off in the background and then the drums start up again. Things pace up as they all go along together in a massive amazing way. You always wish it could go longer but the song has to finish eventually.
5/5
Track 6 - Joker & The Theif
This is my personal favourite of the album. Another high energy pumping track, the Joker & The Theif wastes no time and the Stokedale dances around on his guitar very nicely as the drums and the keyboard pick up. It leads to a very catchy guitar riff which forms the verse. "Can You See The Joker Flying Over? As She's Standing In A Feild Of Clover". Nice Keyboard work in the back ground and Hesketts druming is ace. Nice little bridge work on the guitars as it leads into a solo of sorts with some nice effects. Great Track
4.5/5
Track 7 - Dimension
Very trippy lyrics are the feature of the high energy track Dimension. Singing about deserts, paper and horses, the head nodding verse brings you into the chorus. The guitar work is very cool here. "Purple Hazes in the sky, See The Angels Wicked Eye". Dimension is a track that defines Wolfmother as the high energy rock and is a live favourite. The track lacks any real guitar solo, but maybe it doesnt need it?
4.5/5
Track 8 - Where Eagles Have Been
This song features a slow accoustic guitar number in the verses, very gentle. Gentle lyrics soon join in with some gentle drums and you get the sense that this is the slowest song on the album so far. But it soon picks up into a much louder rock track. "I Had A Vision, Of Festive Days, Shes Like An Eagle, In The Misted Haze". The song dies back down into its gentle verse. A church organ like chorus picks the song up and into a high energy guitar solo that makes you smile. Apart from the ending of the track, 'Where Eagles Have Been' lacks the high energy that has been present in the album up to this point.
3.5/5
Track 9 - Apple Tree
"Dear Sir Can You Remember Me?" DUM, "Im The One That Picked The Apple Tree!" DUM. Back into the high energy rock that we have come to love. Simple guitar work showcase a song about apple tree's and a dudes hot daughter. Nice guitar work all over the track, and a very gritty, dirty solo get you right into the song. Very Rock, Very Roll.
5/5
Track 10 - Tales From The Forest Of Gnomes
Tales From The Forest Of Gnomes eh? Smoking some of the wacky tobbacco maybe? Who cares, another slower track but very mellow. This tracks slow guitar works better than Where Eagles Have Been. About 1:20 in, the guitar rips in loudly and high with the chorus lyrics "Say Goodbye To Your Sorrow, And Hello To Tommorrow, Well I Hear The Fiddlers Call, Say That Love Is Here For All". Stockdales voice begins to sound a little like Jack White here, but i dont think that is intentional. Very Cool Track.
4/5
Track 11 - Witchcraft
No messing around here, the guitar and bass pick up straight away with some nice jazz style druming which works well. The high Wolfmother energy comes back to its rip roaring life. This song can get a little repedative after a while, but it shall never become a 'Skip Track' and that is because it has a really awesome Flute Solo. Yeah, a flute solo on a rock track. But its happened before (ie Turbonegro). Solid Track.
3.5/5
Track 12 - Vagabond
Heavy yet dull thuds bring in the ending track, soon followed by some old school accoustic work. "I Go Out Walking All Day Long, Take Away This Lonely Man Soon He Will Come". The tempo and energy soon picks up again and Vagabond roars on. Little guitar solo plays in the background of the song at times. Vagabond shows the bands abbility to write up complex songs. The Track finishes in about 50 seconds of weird noises and such, but it makes for a nice little ending.
3.5/5
For a debut album 'Wolfmother' is awesome, for an album in general, hehe it rocks.
Songs To Get:
- Mind's Eye
- Woman
- Dimension
- White Unicorn
- Apple Tree
Pros:
- Very Catchy tunes
- Lots of Great tracks, no crappy fillers
Cons:
- No real accoustic number
For a band in its infancy to come up with such a champion album is amazing. Look forward for even bigger things from these Sydney blokes in the future.
This is my 2nd Review, please rate and comment. Cheers
-Auldy
