Wolfmother

We are now reaching the midway point of 2006 and I have to be honest. So far, I've been somewhat disappointed with many of the releases this year. Many albums that I had high expectations for fell a little short of the mark while others just plain sucked. There have been a few promising releases this year but nothing that has really blown my socks off. There is still another six months to go so anything can happen. With that said, I must say that there is one album in particular that as of this moment is getting a fair amount of rotation on the MP3 player. I've been hearing a lot of fuzz, uh, I mean, buzz about this band and I really needed to see what all the hoopla was about. The first time I even learned about Wolfmother was while I was reading a Best Buy flyer. I saw an add for their CD advertised for $7.99. The cover looked pretty cool. It is actually a painting by the legendary fantasy artist Frank Frazetta. The name Wolfmother also had that flow to it like Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, Humble Pie, Uriah Heep, etc. I sampled some audio files and read some reviews by people that purchased this. I was a bit hesitant at first to even buy it but just the other day I finally decided to get it. Well my metal brethren, I strongly feel that this full length debut from Wolfmother is something that is sure to stick out among any other release this year, like a Guns n' Roses "Appetite For Destruction" or The Darkness "Permission To Land". Wolfmother is a three piece from Australia. They actually got a record deal when they played their demo over the phone. Most of the final product on their debut is a direct result from some of the jams they played. When I first listened to "Wolfmother", I immediately heard elements of modern day bands like Jet and The White Stripes. At times it sounded like trippy stoner rock but this band takes things a step further. There is alot of distorted fuzz and it seems the bass takes on a prominent roll as a lead rhythm instrument, kind of like the way Chirs Squire uses his in Yes. That's not to say there isn't any guitars. Listening to it further I heard even more things that really caught my ear. From the vocal standpoint, the singer sounds like a mix of classic David Bowie, Ray Davies and Robert Plant. Musically, it's very blues based but rocks. I hear bits of very early Black Sabbath and Blue Cheer, but the cleaner parts have that "Zeppelin III" feel to them and as for the keyboards, vintage 70's Hammond B-3 organ via Deep Purple. Even the production sounds raw, giving it a feel and style of retro rock. The mix between the guitars, bass, drums, vocals and keyboards is well balanced. Some of the highlights for me track wise are "Joker & The Thief". The keyboards remind me of something off of "Rainbow Rising" or "Machine Head". The guitar pattern has a similar structure like the one on the beginning of "Return of the Giant Hogweed" by Genesis. The acoustic intro to a song like "Where Eagles Have Been" gives me chills because the first impression I get is of classic Page/Plant with a tad of The Allman Brothers "Can't You See". The heavy power chords of "Colossal" can fit well on any Soundgarden album. "Mind's Eye" projects "Dark Side of the Moon" era Pink Floyd using Hammond Organs through most of the song with a keyboard run that would make any Genesis, Yes or Deep Purple fan stand up in disbelief! "Witchcraft" has a flute solo that would make Ian Anderson proud. "Vagabond" echoes Zeppelin's "Gallows Pole". Although I like music from the 60's, I really have to be in the mood to listen to it. "Wolfmother" might be easily type cast as such a band from that era, but what makes them different is their ability to mix it up and be more diverse, making them stand out from the other so called stoner rock bands. They have some very upbeat tracks, slower ones with clean guitars and powerful organ sections, along with some pretty wild vocals. The song structures aren't anything complex but the band does have a knack for writing some catchy tunes. Wolfmother really offers something fresh to the rock scene. They bring back a sound from the late 60's, early 70's and do it quite well. Check it out!