WOLFMOTHER: WOLFMOTHER (REVIEW)
October 31st 2006 13:40
WOLFMOTHER
WOLFMOTHER
(2005; Interscope/Modular)
RATING:
TRACK LISTING: 1) Colossal / 2) Woman / 3) White Unicorn / 4) Pyramid / 5) Mind's Eye / 6) Joker And The Thief / 7) Dimension / 8) Where Eagles Have Been / 9) Apple Tree / 10) Tales From The Forest Of Gnomes / 11) Witchcraft / 12) Vagabond
The God of ‘70s Rock stands atop a majestic cliff with the wind whipping through his lion-hair, his hairy chest beating bravely under his unbuttoned big-collared shirt, and his cock straining in his spandex pants. Wolfmother make offerings to the God of ‘70s Rock, in the form of the big riffs, big organ vamps, big girlie vocals, big hair, lyrics about unicorns and other mystical fantasy shit, and probably some scantily clad virgins with big breasts. And the God of ‘70s rock is pleased, because Wolfmother have had a very successful year: taking out three Arias on Sunday night for Best Group, Best Album, and Best Breakthrough Album; not to mention their success overseas.
Far be it from me to question the omniscience and taste of the God of ‘70s Rock, and just about everyone else in the world, but Wolfmother’s debut is missing something that stops me from liking it as much as all the magazines and old dudes at bus stops in Uriah Heap t-shirts are telling me I should.
Not only are Wolfmother less than original—apeing the sludgey trudge of Black Sabbath, the Eastern-tinged mysticism of Led Zeppelin, and the organ-fuelled psychedelia of Deep Purple—even their influences have been done to death. Bands have been milking these dinosaur bands for inspiration since time began, and if some bunch of whippersnappers is gonna tug at that udder, they’d better add a bit of flavour to make the well-matured yoghurt go down better. Wolmother fail to add anything much at all here apart from youthful exuberance and cracking musicianship, making them little more than an anachronism: offering the safety of nostalgia under the guise of new rock. That would be fine if they had the songwriting to back it up. And they do, for a while. But too often the songs on this album degenerate into pretentious noodling and dull genericism, making for a less than memorable experience.
Sure, there are some great moments on Wolfmother (2005). “White Unicorn” is a scenic trail through clean Zeppelin jangle, Sabbath stomp, and Purple organ noodling; “Pyramid” is galloping Sabbath meets eerie space rock; and “Tales From The Forest Of Gnomes” is shimmering, Beatlesesque psych pop interjected with stabs of high, stinging guitar. But apart from the rollicking single, “Woman” (which boasts a mesmerising and pleasantly noisy organ bridge from Chris Ross which reminds me of the Doors), I find it hard to remember any of these tunes after the disc has stopped playing. It’s deceptive, because there are hints of greatness littered throughout the record, but something always seems to be draggin’ ‘em back down into the mire of not-very-good-ness. “Colossal” starts out like the impressively epic opener its name suggests, but begins to plod along like a grandpa turtle by the middle. “Mind’s Eye” is a plaintive tune with a restrained performance from vocalist/guitarist Andrew Stockdale that gives way to some inspired Robert Plant-like wailing, but is let down by its chorus of shit. And “Dimension” starts out with an impressive howl, but soon degenerates into generic ‘60s garage rock with a really boring up-and-down riff.
Unfortunately, these missteps and a lack of surprises outweigh the highpoints of this album. It might be enough for the God of ‘70s rock, but there’s just not enough going on here to keep me interested. The band lacks oomph and what little attitude they have (like in the distorted blast that starts “Pyramid” and the sloppy garage punk of “Apple Tree”) is far too fleeting to sell this competent but largely unremarkable set of songs.
I hate to rag on a young, up-and-coming Australian band like this but I don’t think my little bit of criticism is going to stop their monstrous ascent (which was never my intention). Wolfmother are a talented young band who show a lot of promise but still have a lot to learn. I just hope that all the success and the premature blessings from the God of ‘70s Rock doesn’t go to their heads and stifle their development into what could be an innovative, contemporary, and above all unique rock beast.
***
IMAGES
Wolfmother
(album cover used under fair dealing)
* images on this page were taken from the following Wikipedia page:
Wolfmother
WOLFMOTHER
(2005; Interscope/Modular)
RATING:
TRACK LISTING: 1) Colossal / 2) Woman / 3) White Unicorn / 4) Pyramid / 5) Mind's Eye / 6) Joker And The Thief / 7) Dimension / 8) Where Eagles Have Been / 9) Apple Tree / 10) Tales From The Forest Of Gnomes / 11) Witchcraft / 12) Vagabond
Wolfmother (2005)
Far be it from me to question the omniscience and taste of the God of ‘70s Rock, and just about everyone else in the world, but Wolfmother’s debut is missing something that stops me from liking it as much as all the magazines and old dudes at bus stops in Uriah Heap t-shirts are telling me I should.
Not only are Wolfmother less than original—apeing the sludgey trudge of Black Sabbath, the Eastern-tinged mysticism of Led Zeppelin, and the organ-fuelled psychedelia of Deep Purple—even their influences have been done to death. Bands have been milking these dinosaur bands for inspiration since time began, and if some bunch of whippersnappers is gonna tug at that udder, they’d better add a bit of flavour to make the well-matured yoghurt go down better. Wolmother fail to add anything much at all here apart from youthful exuberance and cracking musicianship, making them little more than an anachronism: offering the safety of nostalgia under the guise of new rock. That would be fine if they had the songwriting to back it up. And they do, for a while. But too often the songs on this album degenerate into pretentious noodling and dull genericism, making for a less than memorable experience.
Sure, there are some great moments on Wolfmother (2005). “White Unicorn” is a scenic trail through clean Zeppelin jangle, Sabbath stomp, and Purple organ noodling; “Pyramid” is galloping Sabbath meets eerie space rock; and “Tales From The Forest Of Gnomes” is shimmering, Beatlesesque psych pop interjected with stabs of high, stinging guitar. But apart from the rollicking single, “Woman” (which boasts a mesmerising and pleasantly noisy organ bridge from Chris Ross which reminds me of the Doors), I find it hard to remember any of these tunes after the disc has stopped playing. It’s deceptive, because there are hints of greatness littered throughout the record, but something always seems to be draggin’ ‘em back down into the mire of not-very-good-ness. “Colossal” starts out like the impressively epic opener its name suggests, but begins to plod along like a grandpa turtle by the middle. “Mind’s Eye” is a plaintive tune with a restrained performance from vocalist/guitarist Andrew Stockdale that gives way to some inspired Robert Plant-like wailing, but is let down by its chorus of shit. And “Dimension” starts out with an impressive howl, but soon degenerates into generic ‘60s garage rock with a really boring up-and-down riff.
Unfortunately, these missteps and a lack of surprises outweigh the highpoints of this album. It might be enough for the God of ‘70s rock, but there’s just not enough going on here to keep me interested. The band lacks oomph and what little attitude they have (like in the distorted blast that starts “Pyramid” and the sloppy garage punk of “Apple Tree”) is far too fleeting to sell this competent but largely unremarkable set of songs.
I hate to rag on a young, up-and-coming Australian band like this but I don’t think my little bit of criticism is going to stop their monstrous ascent (which was never my intention). Wolfmother are a talented young band who show a lot of promise but still have a lot to learn. I just hope that all the success and the premature blessings from the God of ‘70s Rock doesn’t go to their heads and stifle their development into what could be an innovative, contemporary, and above all unique rock beast.
***
IMAGES
Wolfmother
(album cover used under fair dealing)
* images on this page were taken from the following Wikipedia page:
Wolfmother
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