Hi people, my username is ryanagainstthemachine and this is my first review. I won't ask you to go easy on me, please be frank. If you think my review is s***, then please, comment on it. If you do like it, then we're all good here :).
Anyway my first review is about the latest rock act in Australia, a trio of rockers called Wolfmother. Their sound is hard to describe, but if you like bands like Black Sabbath and AC/DC, then you might like Wolfmother.
I think I am patriotic to Australia. I screamed my lungs out cheering for the Socceroos when they made it into the World Cup. I'm proud to be an Australian when my relatives from China comment on how great Australia is. But one thing I am not proud of in Australia is our rock bands. With bands such as Jet, Powderfinger and other wish-wash, sometimes I am ashamed to live in Australia. (AC/DC wasn't even that great. It's just not my cup o' tea.)
But a few months ago, i heard Mind's eye by Wolfmother, on Triple J. I was taken aback by the sheer power of the organ, powerchords and falsetto vocals. I was even more surprised to learn that this band was Oz. I thought, Ryan, this just might be the band that will take the Aussie rock world by storm. My God, I was right.
When the album came out I immediately bought it.
I loved the album art cover, read everything about Wolfmother on the net, and listened to Mind's Eye about 100 times, but I didn't explore the rest of the album yet. I thought to myself, why not listen to the full album now? ALL OF IT. NOW!!!!
After the last note on Vagabond was played, I thought to myself, wow. But there is something about the album which is seriously daunting which stops me from giving it a classic.
The fact that basically every song sounds the same. Powerchords, ascending up and down fretboards, falsetto vocals, haunting keyboards. It's on every song!(Except for the keyboards. Chris Ross is the keyboardist and bassist, so you can't really play bass while holding a note on the keys at the same time can you?) No sign of any form of a ballad, maybe with the small exception of Where Eagles Have Been. (Even then it's not really a ballad.)
But still, the ups are more up then the downs.
For example, Woman is a perfect example on how to have hot, sexy steamy rock delivered straight in your face. The irresistable call of "Woman!" by the vocalist, Andrew Stockdale, accompanied by a nice rhythm of guitar and drums, just want to make you get up and shake that thing.
The White Unicorn is another great song. It reminds me of the good old Led Zeppelin. With elements of psychedelic and hard rock, it's hard not to go wrong with this song. Around the middle of the song, there is some great experimenting, from the keyboards and other fun sound effects.
Dimension just screams out "Put me out as the next Single! I'm too catchy and rocky!" Lyrics such as "I have nothing but a piece of paper," "Then I let everything go into another dimension," frantic scaling up and down the guitar, and a absoultely groovy interlude at around 2 minutes, it's actually a very good song.
Apple Tree talks about "Nyssa, can you remember me, I'm the one who picked the apple tree." It's about seeing a hot babe and other delightful things, such as apple trees. A nice groovy solo reminscent of the "Paranoid" solo by Black Sabbath near the end. Hard, high energised rock. Life can't get any better.
Tales From The Forest Of Gnomes. When I read that track aloud, I didn't believe what I was saying! I got one word for them. You might know what that word is. But I do love this song. A nice soulful introduction leads to the hard hitting powerchord drenched chorus, and nice singing by Stockdale.
Last but not least I like to comment on Mind's Eye. This is the song that got me into Wolfmother. This is the song that kickstarted my obsession with Wolfmother. It's got all the trademark sounds of Wolfmother. Keyboards, powerchords and the like. An absolutely blistering keyboard solo after choruses of " Come and see the Mind's Eye!". It's got that soft-loud dynamic that we all love/hate. (Guitars play softly in the verses, one chord per bar, then gets louder in the choruses.)
There are other songs that I have left out, such as Pyramid and Joker and the Thief. Both are really good songs, but I just feel they lack the quality of the songs mentioned above. "Joker" also contains really shoddy lyrics IMO. I felt that Where Eagles Have Been lacks energy and no hard hitting powerchords. Some people feel that might be a good thing. I think it is alright that they hit the soft spot once in a while, but I would have like the song to go soft until the last minute or so, and then the guitar break down in an absolute frenzy.
Anyway I hoped you enjoyed the review, and hopefully this will convince you to at least download a song from them.
My final verdict is: A near classic album. I was taken aback by how much hidden talent Australia had in terms of rock. I just thought that there should be a ballad or
Wolfmother got a MySpace!!! If you have MySpace add them to see their latest gigs and other cool stuff.
Recommended songs
Mind's Eye
Woman
Dimension
Tales From The Forest Of Gnomes
Apple Tree
Wolfmother is:
Andrew Stockdale - Guitars/Vocals
Stockdale is a great vocalist. He has good falsetto tones, and he is a decent guitar player, reminds me of Tony Iommi.
Chris Ross - Bass/Keyboards
I feel that Ross is a versatile musician, from playing keyboards to bass. I reckon it's a good skill. (I also play bass and piano!)
Myles Heskett - Drums
Heskett is not the best drummer in the world, but he got good energy and his fills are interesting.
