Average Metacritic score 76 (22 reviews):

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Wolfmother
Wolfmother (Interscope)
US release date: 02 May 2006
Rating: 60 (3 stars)

by Stephen Thomas Erlewine

There's no denying Australian heavy rock trio Wolfmother has been raised on rock -- specifically, raised on '70s rock. Problem is, from all appearances on their eponymous debut, they made their journey into the past via the twin gateway drugs of the White Stripes and Queens of the Stone Age, and once they dug back to the original Zeppelin and Sabbath texts (stopping along the way for some Soundgarden discs and maybe, for lyrical inspiration, Yes and Rush), they indulged so much it screwed with their sense of aesthetics. They threw everything and anything together, not bothering with minor problems like how their frenzied retro-rock doesn't quite support songs with titles like "The White Unicorn" and "Where Eagles Have Been" -- Zeppelin drew inspiration from JRR Tolkien and Sabbath certainly sang about fairies and gnomes, but neither band sounded as precious, inarticulate, or confused as Wolfmother does here. And their naïveté is not limited to guitarist Andrew Stockdale's stock swords 'n' sorcery imagery: they mix up their musical clichés in bewildering ways, as riffs lifted from Soundgarden ("Rusty Cage" provides the opening for "Joker & the Thief") give way to a QOTSA stomp as sung by Jack White (whose ghost is also heard on the title of "Apple Tree," not to mention its frenetic verses), or how a complicated Zep riff is graced by a Jethro Tull flute solo on "Witchcraft." Blame it on their youth -- all this stuff was new to them, so they absorbed it all at once then quickly regurgitated it in ways that won't seem to make much sense to anybody familiar with their inspirations (and their clunky funk-rock workout "Love Train" simply won't make sense to anybody anywhere). At times, Wolfmother's unintentionally bizarre amalgams are kind of delightful, and the group does have a basic, brutal sonic force that is pretty appealing, but even at their best, they never banish the specters of the bands that they desperately mimic throughout this promising but muddled debut. They have enough of a good thing going here to suggest that they'd be a killer live band, but not enough to make this record all too memorable on its own terms.

my record of the year.

its a blast, thats for sure.

It's just too close to Sabbath and the White Stripes for me.

For me, this seemed like beginning of the end of rock revivalism.

this is a very good album. i am starting to put together year-end lists and i can't imagine this being kept out of the top-10. maybe that has something to do with them absolutely blowing me away live, but this sabbath-meets-genesis thing i hear in them comes off really well for me.

heard what it was like and decided to pass. i only allow myself 390 albums a year (which i'll probably drop to 364 for 2007) so every album must count.

Liked it the first time, hated it by the third time and haven't played it again since the fifth time. Will play one more time just to see but probably won't make my list (top 75 or so).

never liked it, the most p[layed albvum of the year (at least here anyway), got nothing against the cunts though, just not my thing. Keep it up by all means.

Fun enough. Brings the rock. Top 20 potential.

Around the middle of my top 10 probably.

i thought there would be a lot of hate for this album. didn't think a lot of people on obner would like it...

That'll come next year.

What the matter, Rads? This album should have you parading around with a full Obner.

Oh wait, that's right. It wasn't actually made in the in the 70's so it's not authentic enough for you.

As a general rule, I choose to ignore any albums released by bands with any variation of Bears or Wolves in their name.

Too bad you're gonna miss out on the great Brown Bear album set for release in 07'

Their massive overexposure here makes me want to hate them, but instead I'm just kind of meh. Some of the songs are plainly ridiculous, but still have a soft spot for Woman

I hear you. Also, most of the people I know who like them also listen to The Butterfly Effect, Parkway Drive and I Killed The Prom Queen. When I hear Wolfmother on the radio I don't always change the station. Jet, on the otherhand...

What Mike Patton said.

I haven't listened to this since I got it earlier this year. They were good live but it's not something I'm really into.

You mean, "Mike Patton's an annoying douche starfucker"?

It's kinda dumb that he says he's doing 60's Italian Music and then makes fun of Wolfmother but it's still pretty funny.

Jet rock harder than Wolfmother.