Reformed Wolfmother Playing Free Aussie Gig, Working On New Album

Andrew Stockdale has very much been the musical equivalent of the boy who cried wolf in recent times.

The Aussie musician has basically been at the centre of a very confusing, very disjointed trail regarding Wolfmother, the band he said he was retiring back in April to pursue a solo career releasing his debut Keep On Moving, booking an Australian tour to launch it, then axing most of the tour in favour of American dates, which then turned out to be booked as Wolfmother shows with Stockdale calling the band’s split “a lie”.

Now following the departure of long-term(ish) bandmate Elliott Hammond (of The Delta Riggs) and the whole sticky saga, Wolfmother (not Andrew Stockdale in solo mode) make their Aussie return with a ‘secret’ live show taking place tonight (Thursday 7th November), as The Music reports,

A post on the band’s official Facebook page today announces that Wolfmother will officially be playing a live comeback show in Stockdale’s adopted home of Byron Bay.

The post simply reads: “Free Wolfmother show tonight at The Northern, Byron Bay, on @ 9pm”, along with an image of Spinal Tap bassist Derek Smalls (how fitting).

As for what to expect from the live show at the Byron venue, there’ll likely be a mix of Wolfmother staples, some of Stockdales (not so) solo material, and perhaps even some new jams, considering that Stockdale has recently hinted that there’ll be a new Wolfmother LP released in March or April of next year.

The new album will be the follow-on from the band’s second album, 2009’s Cosmic Egg.

Originally, what would become Andrew Stockdale’s solo release, Keep Moving, was to be Wolfmother’s official third album, as reported in March; “I’m putting this record as Andrew Stockdale….. It’s a different trip now and I need to be true to myself.” While also speaking of his regrets at not ditching the band name earlier. “Wolfmother came with a lot of expectations,” he said. “It’s been exciting to get out of that headspace.”

Though seemingly positive about leaving Wolfmother behind, and his relocation to Byron Bay to be closer to his family, come early June, Stockdale cancelled his 2013 Australian Tour to launch Keep Moving. Axing the entire 14-date run just one day before it’s kick-off – save for the Sydney Metro Theatre gig on the day of the album’s launch.

“Wolfmother may be on the back burner, but the heart and soul of it thrives in Stockdale and his merry men,” wrote our Tone Deaf reviewer of Andrew Stockdale’s sole Sydney show for the “postponed” Keep Moving Tour, which blamed “international commitments” for the scuppered Australian dates.

Things took a strange turn earlier this month when – not less than three months on from their “last ever” show in April opening for Aerosmith – Stockdale announced a series of American shows booked as Wolfmother gigs at the Troubadour in LA. When a fan asked Stockdale about his comments that “‘WM will be gone for good’ – is that a lie?” Stockdale simply replied ‘yes’.

Adding to the bizarre twist, fan site wolfmother.net points out that the Wolfmother dates follow speculation that Stockdale’s forthcoming solo dates, under his own name in support of Keep Moving, were unable to shift tickets, suggesting that the name flip-flop was to help the show avoid stiffing.

In any case, it’s been tricky to be a Wolfmother fan of late.