Wolfmother

There is no pinball machine in the canyons of L.A. that Wolfmother has not conquered. There is no fish taco they have not devoured. There is no emotion they have not explored and poured out through their music, and with the Album of the Year award from Triple J radio network there is no doubt left in anyone’s mind that Wolfmother isn’t a beast of band.

The net result of years of jamming between a graphic designer, a digital engineer, and a photographer, Wolfmother rose out of the Land Down Under in 2004. After the success of their debut EP, Wolfmother was swept off on an international 6 month tour that would leave them not gasping for breath but thirsting for a full-length album. With that the group relocated to Cherokee studios in Hollywood to create an album for Modular Records that both captured the raw emotion behind their live act, and had a beguilingly short name.

Using L.A. as a major muse, Wolfmother began their studio time with 6 weeks of creativity, crafting "simple philosophies for complex times." The bulk of the time would be spent trying to capture the elusive emotion behind each song, and pigging out on fish tacos, the necessary fuel for Wolfmother’s experimentally progressive brand of rock.

The retro sound of Wolfmother is balanced on that obsession to find the emotion, not the perfection. One could easily throw their album amongst those from 20 or 30 years ago and not notice the difference, but instead noticing the regret for not catching those guys in concert. They mix the accessible pop influences of Led Zeppelin and The Doors, dash in a bit of edgy vocals similar to Black Sabbath, all with heavier punk influences of The Stooges, and even throw a little modern Boris in there for a power-heavy cathartic sonic ride.

It took but 2 weeks to capture what Wolfmother had created. Once released the album was welcomed into the Top 40 charts and was given the Album of the Year award by Triple J radio network. The band is spending the rest of the year on tour internationally, with a list of dates and shows longer than vocal/guitarist Andrew Stockdale’s hair (it’s long, believe me).

Almost artificially ripped away from the ‘70s, Wolfmother has created a vintage sound that pleasures both old and new fans of music. Their future looks almost as bright as their influences’ past, and I for one can’t wait until they throw another morsel of sonic delight our way, if their tour ever ends that is.

And through it all they remained the Pinball Champions of The City of Angels.

(Written for Shut Up Magazine)