Wolfmother: A Rock Revival

Wolfmother – Wolfmother
May 2, 2006
Interscope Records
Victim of Loudness War? Yes

Finding a new band that can actually produce good music is a rarity these days. In a market saturated with over-produced pop, cookie-cutter rock and other assorted atrocities, finding a new release worth laying down roughly twenty dollars for is no easy task. Luckily, there are bands like Wolfmother to make the search a little easier. As their self-titled debut proves, rock and roll is still alive and well in 2006.

Wolfmother opens with “Dimension,” a track that has all the bombast and thunder of any rock song worth its salt from the ‘70s. The guitars are in your face, the bass and drums are full of thunder and the lyrics are the perfect mixture of surreal and sincere. In fact, “Dimension” sets the tone for the record as a whole, as every song seems to follow those basic guidelines.

But don’t misinterpret that statement to mean Wolfmother is repetitive or boring. On the contrary, it is a consistently entertaining listen, with each tune thrilling the listener just as much as the one that preceded it. Through the obvious singles like “Unicorn” and “Woman” through the deeper album tracks like “The Joker and the Thief” and “Mind’s Eye,” Wolfmother makes one thing abundantly clear: they are here to help bring rock and roll back to life.

The music elitists will attempt to point out all the influences that shine through in Wolfmother’s songwriting, as if it was some kind of flaw. In reality, the band’s ability to pay homage to the bands that shaped their sound while still coming off original is a testament to their strength. Sure, you can hear elements of Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple and Black Sabbath throughout Wolfmother; But those bands and their members lost their way years ago, straying off the path into territory that few were interested in following them into. Wolfmother steps into the spotlight that their influences vacated eons ago and reminds us all what music has been missing.

The bottom line is that there is a big and bright future for Wolfmother. With more releases like this one, they are sure to be a force to be reckoned with in rock music. If they continue to produce such epic songs and memorable riffs, there’s no doubt they will be at the forefront of rock and roll for years to come.

– Ian Rice

To purchase a copy of Wolfmother, please click here.