As previously reported, late last year Wolfmother’s frontman Andrew Stockdale declared that the band’s long-awaited third album was “nearly finished.”

“We are so close to having this record completed,” he said last December, and yet nothing has materialised over the past few ambiguous months. However, in true form, what was to be an established third album for this Aussie band has metamorphosed into a musical reckoning of the blatantly cruel and obvious… a solo debut for the frontman.

Having drifted in and out of obscurity with a tepid appearance here and a soundbite or two there, it proves that the only consistent thing about Wolfmother, Australia’s one-off call to a modern Led Zeppelin, is Andrew Stockdale’s unmistakable ‘fro.

Having been plagued by the cursed revolving door of interchangeable lineups, frontman Stockdale has decided to disorient Australians even further by replacing the soiled band-brand with a self-serving solo excursion. That is, in pure altruistic form, releasing the third Wolfmother album under his own name.

It was only this past Tuesday that the banshee lead singer spread the gospel word across twitter stating:

It seems it is a time for self-realisation according to Stockdale, and to admit to himself (with either arrogance or feigned humbleness) something which was already well-known amongst fans. That is, what else has Wolfmother ever been other than a thinly-veiled alter-ego for the neo-glam rocker?

This news comes at a precarious time for the muso, where whether this decision is an artistic revelation or a shrewd marketing ploy, something essentially had to be done to break a period of worrisome stagnation.

Having bolted out of the gates with an unprecedented self-titled debut in 2004, which later reached an acclaimed eighth position on Triple J’s ‘Hottest 100 Australian Albums of All Time’, Wolfmother’s luck, in true early-peaking form, ran out by the time its ineffectual sophomore Cosmic Egg came around in 2009.

Despite Stockdale optimistically having rooted for Wolfmother’s most recent live lineup late last year, the very familiar theme of  inconsistency and contradiction is clearly still playing in the background.

…something which was already well-known amongst fans. That is, what else has Wolfmother ever been other than a thinly-veiled alter-ego for the neo-glam rocker?

The new lineup seemed to meet Stockdale’s high expectations when he first announced Wolfmother’s third album, “at the moment we’ve got Elliot Hammond from The Delta Riggs in the band and he’s playing a lot of congas, bongos, percussion, and harp so we’ve started bringing songs like ‘Love Train’ back into the set, and with all the instrumentation it’s just a total trip.”

But with this third album, under the working title of Gatherings, having hop-scotched “on-and-off” from one recording studio to the other, over a lengthy period of 15 months – it’s unclear how happy Stockdale was with his ever changing lineup.

Gathering a vast array of musicians for its production, including, according to FasterLouder, three bassists and four drummers (including reportedly ex-Vines Hamish Rosser and once ex-Wolfmother drummer Dave Atkins), as well as guitarist Vin Steele and multi-instrumentalist Hammond, anticipation is surely building.

Stockdale previously noting he was “aiming for a record full of songs that trigger off your imagination and you drift off with the record, as opposed to the kind of record that’s exciting for one or two songs or after one or two listens you get that feeling that there’s nothing left to explore there.”

Stockdale took to twitter to celebrate the album’s completion last month:

Whether you’re a romantic or a cynic, a lover or a hater, of Wolfmother/ The Andrew Stockdale “one -man-band”, it’s hard to deny that this Australian muso’s fate lies in the hands of this upcoming release. It’s hard to determine whether the album’s prolongation serves as an optimistic or ominous sign for Stockdale, but hopefully, for all our sakes, third time’s a charm.

You can see the reincarnated Wolfmother as co-supporting act for Aerosmith on their upcoming Australian tour.

Aerosmith Australian Tour 2013 Dates

Exclusive premium tickets & packages are available now from http://www.showbiz.com.au

w/ support from Wolfmother, Grinspoon, Spiderbait, The Dead Daisies, Kingswood and Diva Demolition

Sunday 28 April – Sydney ANZ Stadium, SYDNEY
ticketek.com.au
ph: 132 849

Wednesday 1 May – Brisbane Entertainment Centre, BRISBANE
ticketek.com.au
ph: 132 849

Saturday 4 May – Rod Laver Arena, MELBOURNE
ticketek.com.au
ph: 132 849

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