There are those who have been unfairly dismissive of Wolfmother, perhaps because the band committed the cardinal sin of becoming rapidly successful in an industry that still remains powerfully distrustful of newcomers. Yet the first album largely deserved the plaudits it gained. Whilst the music may have cast a strong backward glance to the likes of Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, it did so with a grin and a wink and the band played with a youthful enthusiasm that only the hardest of heart could dismiss without pause. Whilst the industry may have remained undecided, the fans lapped up the album and it sold by the truckload (thus furthering the scepticism surrounding the band) and whilst high sales are hardly an indication of quality in and of themselves (after all, the Spice Girls sold millions), those that actually took the time to listen to the music rather than the snide comments found an album that not only sent the adrenalin surging but which benefitted from repeat listens. A period of turmoil followed the band’s rapid ascent and it was a very different line up that recorded the underrated ‘cosmic egg’ and the lo-fi but musically powerful ‘New Crown’, the latter proving to be rather less successful than the band’s previous efforts despite boasting some truly impressive moments.
Thus we arrive at Wolfmother 2016, an outfit with much to prove and a hunger that is apparent right from the moment bristling opener of ‘the love that you give’ kicks off with all the sudden violence of a bar fight. Andrew Stockdale’s wail, as familiar as Billy Corgan’s patented whine, is defiantly present from the get go and the riffs maintain the psychedelic power that so impressively powered the debut album. A short, sharp shock to the system, ‘the love that you give’ lays down a challenge to the non-believers and delivers exactly the hard rock thrills that fans have come to expect. With Josh Freese on drums (for roughly half the album) and Joey Waronker filling the throne for the other half, the album has a rock solid foundation upon which to build, whilst Brendan O’ Brian brings his magic to the production, giving the band a perfect blend of hard rock grit and studio sheen. The title track is up next and it does little to slow the pace. Indeed, the chorus of ‘she will be victorious’ is spat out like a challenge whilst the spirit of the Beatles haunts the psychedelic middle eight before the band unleash a series of riffs that send the whole thing spinning off like the Dalai Lama on a flying saucer. It’s loud, fun and when the spacey rhythms of ‘Baroness’ detonate there’s no turning back, you’re lost in the patchouli-scented world the band inhabit with no door visible amidst the fug. It’s here, with the industrial-strength rhythms powering the songs forward, that you realise that the album is victorious and it’s a perfectly apt title, clearly influenced by the depth and soul the band invested in the album. Things take a softer turn on the acoustic-led ‘Pretty Peggy’, a track that sounds like Neil Young covering ‘Adore’-era Smashing Pumpkins, and whilst Andrew Stockdale’s vocals have not softened with age, they fit the anthemic nature of the track’s chorus perfectly. We’re back into rock territory for the fast-paced ‘City lights’ and the light and shade dynamic of the album does much to make it feel like it’s flying by in a fraction of its already short runtime.
The second half of the album kicks off with the thumping ‘simple life’ which pits a huge riff against a storming rhythm suggesting that the band have at least one eye on the dancefloor. We’re off into AOR territory for the acoustic strum of ‘Best of a bad situation’, a track that sounds bizarrely like Supertramp battling with ‘Spaghetti Incident?!’ Guns ‘n’ Roses (make of that what you will) before we edge into the chrome plated riff of ‘Gypsy Caravan’, a future single if ever there was one. With a taut beat and plenty of energy, ‘Gypsy caravan’ does a good job of harking right back to the band’s first album, before the Sabbath-infused stomp of ‘happy face’ sends things off into a psychedelic haze once more with the oddly metered chorus nodding to ‘Sgt Pepper’. The album ends with ‘eye of the beholder’, a gale-force blast of hard rock that brings the album to a stormy conclusion and leaves the listener very much wanting more.
Let’s be honest. Wolfmother are not a band who are ever going to reinvent the wheel. You either dig their energetic and well-played retro rock or it grates and you’re never going to get it. I’d argue that Wolfmother are one of those bands who have done a great job of assimilating their influences and, with great musicianship and an obvious love of the music that moves them, they create music that sire is a hell of a lot of fun to rock out to. Whether ‘victorious’ is better than the band’s debut is open to debate, but it is certainly a strong contender and the album packs a powerful punch over its short run time (a mere thirty-five minutes). There’s nothing here to recommend the band’s detractors revaluate their opinion, but for fans of the band (and for the undecided), this is a potent reminder of the band’s many strengths and a hugely enjoyable romp through hard rock history.
