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Review Summary: No X factor here. A couple of years ago I’ve stumbled upon a video of Mike Patton interrupting an interview at the Lollapalooza festival upon hearing Wolfmother performance to engage in a “what year are we in?!” rant. Precisely the same question kept haunting me as I revisited Wolfsbane’s first post-reunion LP. It doesn’t really feel like an album that was released in 2012. Of course, Wolfmother is a (relatively) young band, so they are supposed to do something new instead of just rehashing the sound of the seventies, while Wolfsbane at the time of their revival were just a bunch of guys in their fifties/late forties who released a feel-good old-school rock album with an admiringly cocky title. There’s nothing inherently wrong with that. I guess Blaze Bayley wanted to take a break from the dark reveries of his solo endeavors, and Wolfsbane’s guitarist Jase Edwards just happened to have written a bunch of songs well suited for that exact purpose.
It is a fairly well-made and diverse set of songs, possibly Wolfsbane’s most eclectic release. The LP starts with driving and punchy “Blue Skies” (easily the best of the bunch) and goes on to display everything the golden age of rock had to offer. Here we have some hard-rocking tunes (“Teacher,” “Who Are You Now,” “Did It for the Money”), punkish tracks (“Buy My Pain,” “Everybody’s Looking For Something”), arena rock songs with big choruses (“Illusion of Love,” “Child of the Sun”), you name it. Of course, there is a motivational song about the value of life (“Starlight”) and a “remember how young we used to be” dad rock anthem (“Smoke and Red Light”). The album is well put together with solid production and crunchy sound. Blaze also sounds vigorous and versatile here, with no sign of tired and burnt-out singing that we’ll encounter in the very same year on his “King of Metal” solo album. The guys know their craft and don’t have to prove anything to anyone.
In fact, that may be the main problem for me. On their first albums, Wolfsbane was an up-and-coming band eager to prove their worth, and the third one was created in a turmoil of emotions, which provided the necessary creative impetus. Whereas this time the guys just had some songs, so they put them on tape, that’s it. It is a fine, competent album, but we’ve heard it all before and keep hearing it all over again. There’s no shortage of both old and new retro rock bands on the market. I think the band would’ve probably said something like “Dude, we just recorded some songs and had fun doing it. What’s up?”
I know. I get it. I just wish there was something more.
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Album Rating: 2.5
I didn't feel like this album deserves anything more than an extended sound off, yet still ended up overwriting a bit. The original goal was to provide a bit of exposure to the band in general and to their new album in particular, but if it turns out to be as underwhelming as this one, I won't be able to write a review on it.
Also, I've stumbled upon the unfortunate news of the band's guitarist Jase Edwards (he is actually the primary songwriter in the band alongside Blaze, also handling the production and engineering duties) being diagnosed with bone marrow cancer. It is supposedly incurable yet treatable (sic!), so he's undergoing chemotherapy right now.
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Solid review dawg
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Thanks, guys! I hope for the best, but I suspect their recent release will barely qualify for a sound off
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"Wolfmother is a (relatively) young band, so they are supposed to do something new instead of just rehashing the sound of the seventies"
Mmm I don't think I agree with that. Innovation is great of course, but I don't think it is a "must". Now, the problem with this album is simply that when compared to older rock it just feels weaker than them. If it had a 70's vibe but one that could stand on the same level as older stuff, then I'd have no problem loving this, but the thing is it doesn't
Anyway, great review!
| | | Album Rating: 2.5
Yeah, I probably should have written that a bit differently, as it shouldn't be about what a band must or mustn't do, but rather about the level of expectations. When it comes to a younger band, people generally expect to hear something new, while with a band like Wolfsbane the core audience just wants to "rock out like in the good old times" or something. So yeah, the main issue is not the sound of the seventies per se, but rather that the songwriting is not sufficiently strong.
| | | Album Rating: 2.5
Ok, for some reason the site published my single comment thrice, so I edited the two replications into something different
| | | Album Rating: 2.5
Anyways, the band's 1994 self-titled release is great, I just don't think they had much left to say after that
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