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WOLFMOTHER |
Performing at Noise Pop - Saturday, April 1
Bottom of the Hill
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It's not too surprising that Aussie power trio Wolfmother frequently gets pegged with the stoner-rock label, given the band's obvious admiration for the monolithic, swaggering riffage of Zeppelin and Sabbath. The youthful Andrew Stockdale (vocals/guitars), Chris Ross (bass/organ), and Myles Heskett (drums) have the instrumental chops to match most Gibson SG-wielding retro rockers, but what sets them head and shoulders above the mutton-chopped masses is their solid songwriting. Though the Sydney-based band first came together in 2000, it spent the next four years hammering out songs ideas through extended jam sessions, honing a mix of sternum-rattling power chords and swirling, psychedelic improvisation to a keen edge before the group's first public performance.
A four-song demo intended to serve as a calling card for club bookers caught the ears of local imprint Modular Records. Wolfmother was soon back in the studio retracking the tunes for official release. Constant touring in its native country and abroad spread the word of the trio's high-energy stage show and vintage sound, leading the band to be touted by some as Australia's next major musical export. In 2005, Wolfmother teamed up with noted producer D. Sardy (Marilyn Manson, Slayer, Jet, and Oasis) in Los Angeles to record its full-length debut. The resulting eponymous effort certainly wears Wolfmother's influences on its sleeve. From Stockdale's wailing vocal genuflection to both Ozzy and Robert Plant (as well as an occasional nod to Jack White's quavering falsetto) to the flutter-tongued, Jethro Tull-like flute heard on Witchcraft" to the quasi-mystical, Tolkien-fueled lyrics of "White Unicorn" and "Tales from the Forest of Gnomes," Wolfmother stakes a solid claim as the new king of broadsword-swinging, orc-slaying '70s hobbit rawk.
The album won't see its domestic U.S. release through Interscope until May, but the band has built a significant buzz after its ferocious live set at last year's CMJ Conference led to a breathless mention in the New York Times. If any act has a chance of shaking indie rock out of its skinny-tied dance-punk doldrums and usher in a new era of bong-hazed, bombastic fury, it's Wolfmother. -Dave Pehling |
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