Wolfmother
Black Sabbath is truly a great name. Deep Purple, though taken from the title of a wimpy M.O.R. song, actually isn't a bad pun. When everyone was talking about heavy Blues, why not be so heavy that you're Deep Purple? Even Led Zeppelin, a name that started as punch line to a Keith Moon joke, conjures an awesome image. You'd think a band that draws inspiration from on these legends would come up with something spectacular.
So what's up with Wolfmother? What kind of name is that? Sure, they're Aussie's, but still that doesn't completely explain a lapse like this. But that's who they are and here's what happened.
Heralding from Erskineville, Sydney, Australia, Wolfmother formed in '00. Four years later, they (Andrew Stockdale - vocals/guitar; Chris Ross - bass/organ; and Myles Heskett - drums) began recording for the sole purpose of using the material to secure bookings. And it worked. The group made an '04 appearance at Australia's mega annual party, Big Day Out. From there they returned to the studio to re-record their songs which comprised their self-titled debut EP. The effort garnered a lot of radio play and sold well enough to pull them out of the local scene.
The next stop was L.A. where they recorded their full-length debut, another self-titled effort, with producer Dave Sardy (Red Hot Chili Peppers, Oasis). Their double A-side single "Mind's Eye/Woman" managed to crack the Aussie Top 30 (barely) but the album did far better coming dangerously close to the top.
By this time everyone is jumping on the bandwagon. Wolfmother won the '05 J Award from the youth radio network Triple J for the best Australian album of the year. Rolling Stone listed Wolfmother as one of their Top 10 Bands to Watch 2006. A second stint on the Big Day Out tour kicked off '06 as the group released follow-up single, "White Unicorn." Then came "Joker & The Thief," which nailed alternative radio airplay in the U.S.
Some bands break-up while others are re-born. In the summer of '08 Wolfmother disbanded. However, Stockdale kept the name and decided to re-launch the group - now a quartet. The new members were formally introduced in January, '09: Aidan Nemeth (guitar) Ian Peres (bass/keyboards) and Dave Atkis (drums). This line-up went to L.A. to record "Cosmic Egg" with producer Alan Moulder. The album arrived the following October. "It's a bombardment of sound," said Stockdale. "With primitive energy."
So what does the title mean? "I did a yoga class and one of the poses we were doing was called 'cosmic egg', and I thought yeah, that's it," added Stockwell. "It's like the fetal pose."
Just when it looked as though everything was settled there was another glitch. The announcement came in April, '10, that Atkins had left. "Dave has had a great experience touring and recording with the band, though in time, it's proven to be too exhausting and taxing on his home life," said the group's statement. Atkins who had a two-year run was replaced by Will Rockwell-Scott.
Listening to Wolfmother conjures up an image of Deep Purple's Ian Gillan fronting Black Sabbath. Wait. That did happen in the early '80s but it didn't turn out so well. Wolfmother's self-titled debut is better than that. Though guitarist/vocalist Stockdale neither possesses Gillan's dramatic range nor Ozzy's demonic menace, he comes reasonably close.
Wolfmother hit their stride when they spit out machine gun, pulsating, riffs on "Dimension," "White Unicorn," "Joker & The Thief," "Love Train" and "Pyramid." Veering from this straight-on approach they tend to get a ponderous. However, Wolfmother shows some vital versatility on the ballad "Tales" and the appealing, jaunty album closer, "Vagabond."
"Cosmic Egg" is a case of a new line-up but the same result. These tracks could be played on any Classic Rock station in America without ruffling feathers. It's a tribute to Stockdale and company that they are able to pull it off so proficiently.
In fact, there should be a drinking game developed around the album. Players would sit around a table listening to one-minute of each song. Then they would secretly write down the name of the band the track resembles: "California Queen" (Deep Purple), "Phoenix" (even more like Deep Purple), "New Moon Rising" (Mountain), "Pilgrim" and "10,000 Feet (Black Sabbath), etc. After revealing what they wrote, the person(s) not with the majority has to down a shot. If there is total agreement, then everybody has to take a shot. The title track is a wild card since it comes off like David Coverdale (Deep Purple/Whitesnake) fronting ZZ Top.
It could be fun.