PacManY2J's Full Review: Cosmic Egg * by Wolfmother
It's been four years since Wolfmother crash-landed onto the mainstream rock scene on the strength of the hit single "Woman" from their self-titled debut. A lot has changed since then, most notably Wolfmother itself. The Australian trio parted ways in August 2008, but frontman Andrew Stockdale vowed to carry on the band's name. Now Wolfmother is a four-piece with, aside from Stockdale, all new members. One thing that hasn't changed, however, is that these guys still rock like nobody's business.
Their second studio album Cosmic Egg again features fast, vigorous rock that takes cues from the rock gods of the past. Stockdale's high, wailing vocals have him sounding like a Robert Plant-Ozzy Osbourne love child (eww), and he delivers his lyrics so dynamically you'd swear this was a live recording. Those vocals, along with some psychadelic touches, give the album a "stoner rock" vibe, but make no mistake: Cosmic Egg is clearly on the energetic side of stoner rock. This is music for jogging, driving, and partying, not for hanging out in the basement.
Album opener "California Queen" is pure stadium rock goodness, driven by its focused beat and huge refrain. It only gets better with "New Moon Rising," another hard rocker that oozes cool with awesome, swaggering riffage and a suave, old-school-style chorus: "Oh she don't mind / She got the time / I see the new moon rising." The beefy "10,000 Feet" throws in some psychadelia atop the commanding riff to add just a smidge of spookiness to this otherwise menacing stomp. Stockdale and Aidan Nemeth offer a killer dual guitar attack that contains a good deal of diversity. As evidenced by tracks like "Pheonix," they can shred and solo heartily enough to fill a stadium while maintaining an overall garage rock feel. And for all their '70s influence, they still find time to give a nod to Rage Against the Machine's Tom Morello on the heavy-hitting "Sundial."
This album is not, however, all shredding and wailing away. They show off a variety of rock styles all while keeping a generally consistent atmosphere. "In the Morning" is a slower one that has them looking to the Beatles for inspiration, at least until the end which is more like Oasis rocking the finale of "Champagne Supernova." Trippy power ballad "Far Away" also slows the pace but gets a boost from a strong chorus that at times has Stockdale sounding like Steve Bays of Hot Hot Heat. Closing track "Violence of the Sun" has a slower tempo but doesn't relinquish an ounce of energy even as it fades into a slightly distorted, apocalyptic ending.
If you're into bands like Preistess or Queens of the Stone Age, you've been enjoying this decade, and Cosmic Egg is going to help you enjoy it even more. I can't say Wolfmother is an entirely groundbreaking band, but then again, how many bands can you say that about? Their sleeves are proudly adorned with an essential list of inlfuences, and they do them all - Zeppelin, Sabbath, Hendrix - justice. They may be a bit of a throwback band, but they add in enough individuality to make sure that every listener immediately knows that this is Wolfmother.
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