Like a throwback to the glory days of Blue Cheer, Black Sabbath, Grand Funk Railroad, The Who, Deep Purple, and Led Zeppelin, comes the Australian power trio Wolfmother. Comprised of Andrew Stockdale on guitars & vocals, Chris Ross on bass & keyboards, and Myles Heskett on drums, these three have come up with one powerful and rocking album here on their self titled debut. Somewhat hinting on the more recent sounds of bands like Soundgarden and Queens of the Stone Age but dipping more so into the style of the vintage bands mentioned above, these Australians swim in power chord heaven, occasionally touching on some psychedelic prog rock ("Where Eagles Have Been") and bluesy, almost Jethro Tull- inspired hard rock (check out the manic flute breaks on 'Tales" and "Witchcraft").
The early power of The Who meets the exhuberance of the White Stripes on "Apple Tree", while the garage rock mentality of Grand Funk Railroad lives on in "Joker & The Thief" and "Colossal", complete with distorted, feedback dripping guitar riffs and pounding rhythms. Elsewhere, expect plenty of Sabbath inspired heavy doom rockers ("Dimension", "White Unicorn", "Woman"), Hammond organ/guitar freakouts that invoke images of classic Deep Purple ("Mind's Eye") and the bluesy-fuzz brutality of Blue Cheer ("Love Train"). The mix of acoustic folk and heavy riffs along with Stockdale's high pitched vocals on "Vagabond" recalls Led Zeppelin circa Led Zeppelin III. So clearly, if you dig early 70's hard rock, this is the CD to get your hands on.
Obviously, the debut from Wolfmother is not going to be the most original release you are going to hear this year, but damn if this isn't one fun ride of heavy, heavy rock & roll that will have you remembering the glory years when the hard rock and metal genre was in its infancy. Let's hope this power trio brings their act to the US and show us what they can do in a live format as well. Recommended listening!
Track Listing
1. Dimension
2. White Unicorn
3. Woman
4. Where Eagles Have Been
5. Apple Tree
6. Joker & The Thief
7. Colossal
8. Mind's Eye
9. Pyramid
10. Witchcraft
11. Tales
12. Love Train
13. Vagabond