A host of wild-eyed youths are slammed against the front barrier as a young girl flies over the heads of the sweat-drenched mob, crowd-surfing to the keening howl of Andrew Stockdale’s unmistakable wail. It’s the perfect scene to complement a band whose sound embodies the wild excesses of the ‘70s, an era some would call the peak of rock n’ roll.
After a strange and tumultuous few years filled with major line-up changes and questionable music decisions, Wolfmother have found their feet once again. Playing at a number of small shows in bars and clubs with minimal fanfare, their past has clearly given way to a more relaxed approach for Stockdale and co. In fact, nothing seems to have diminished the number of adoring fans these giants of 70s inspired riff-rock attract.
The response to their latest album New Crown has been nothing short of miraculous. Since its overnight release just over a week ago, it has received over 450,000 streams and downloads, and has risen to the top 50 in the iTunes album charts. For a record that was recorded live in a rehearsal space, released independently and with virtually no publicity, the response is a pretty amazing feat.
It has become apparent that the ‘Wolfmother’ name is now a force unto itself, a surprise even to Stockdale, who was quoted on Triple M as saying, “It gets 450,000 streams within a week, it’s on NME, Rolling Stone in the US, Ultimate Guitar in the US, 300 blogs. Then on Tuesday it’s in the top 50 in the US album charts – it’s 26. It’s ten behind Coldplay with major labels. I might have beaten Coldplay! I mean, recorded in a rehearsal space, top 50 US iTunes album charts, this is awesome!”
As the red curtain lifted on a packed Corner Hotel, an extended version of their newest single ‘New Crown’ thudded into existence, warming the apprehensive crowd to the new material with its driving riffage.
A member since 2009, Ian Peres impressed with his seamless mid-song changes from bass guitar to organ and back, holding the rhythm tight for the frontman’s wildly erratic solos. Meanwhile, newest recruit Vin Steele, ensconced between stacks of amps, pounded out some faultless rock beats – though lacked any opportunity to stand out, hidden behind Stockdale’s infamously prominent stage presence and unceasing riffs.
As things started to heat up, ‘Woman’ from 2008’s Wolfmother tipped the mosh pit into a full-on frenzy of flailing limbs and banging heads. Interspersed with tracks from New Crown and 2009’s Cosmic Egg were old favourites like ‘Mind’s Eye’, ‘Joker And The Thief’, ‘Apple Tree’, and ‘Colossal’ that really got the room sweating.
Even with half the crowd doing their best to knock each other out, crowd-surfers flying overhead, and teenagers writhing in ecstasy, nobody could help but spot the elephant in the room; while the new material is super cool, and could never be mistaken as anything but Wolfmother, sadly something is missing.
The song structures are simplistic, with far less creative nuances and dynamic shifts than their previous work, and the psychedelic edge that made them just that little bit different – that little bit more clever – seems to be gone.
Perhaps it’s the new line-up, the haste in which New Crown was thrown together, or just a conscious decision to be more straight-up rock oriented. Either way, this is no longer the Grammy-winning Wolfmother of 2006. For better or worse, this is a different beast altogether.
