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Australia's premier stoner-rock revivalists make their full-length debut with this self-titled disc. I don't have much to add to my overall evaluation of Wolfmother as seen in my review of their "Dimensions" EP below. This album repeats two songs from the EP ("Dimension" and "Mind's Eye") and finds the band stretching out the scope of some of the new songs to something approaching epic ("White Unicorn," "Where Eagles Have Been"). They pull the old trick of blending from one song to the other without interruption with "The Joker & the Thief" and "Colossal." They lose some points for the exceedingly dopey lyrics of "Woman": "She's a woman, you know what I mean / You better listen, listen to me / She's gonna set you free, yeah." A-duh. They channel the White Stripes once again on the garagey stomp of "Apple Tree." Singer/guitarist Andrew Stockdale rolls an "R" in the song "Pyramid," and he's not joking, but it still seems to be for fun. They make a nod to Jethro Tull by busting out some flute on "Witchcraft."
I'm generally interested in bands recontextualizing rock idioms. Wolfmother's unironic Led Zeppelin/Black Sabbath homage, while astonishingly accomplished and delivered with zeal, isn't enough of a departure from the originals or, ultimately, smart enough to register on that scale for me, though. (mike.06.06)
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I'm not a fan of early-70s classic rock, but I can recognize its occasional merits. This Aussie trio seems to have a genius for identifying and replicating the filet of the era and putting it together in a sincere and accessible way. The disc opens with a "whaaaa!" from singer/guitarist Andrew Stockdale, and the song, "Dimension," alternates between Jimi Hendrix groove and Ozzy-era Black Sabbath grind. "Mind's Eye" is an organ-fueled prog power ballad that speeds up toward the end, "Stairway to Heaven" (or "Come Sail Away") style. They've got some swingin' bongos on the White Stripey "Love Train," and "The Earth's Rotation Around the Sun" is a super-psychedelic instrumental, which I guess is where the Hawkwind comparisons come from, though I couldn't verify that for you. As demonstrated by my feelings about fellow Hobbit-rock revivalists Dungen, this is the sort of case where my estimation hinges largely on attitude, and indications seem to be that, even though Wolfmother embrace the music of those dino-rock bands, they reject the debauched lifestyle, and seem to be sincere and down-to-earth. This disc also raises a critical question: if this is what the cool kids are listening to these days, does that mean it's time for a re-evaluation of the first Rush album? (mike.03.06)
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