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Sydney's Wolfmother almost look like just another band from Australia until they take the stage and hit their opening song, teleporting you back to the pre-metal rock days of the late-'60s and early-'70s. Indeed, these three young gentlemen could each be the sons of rock 'n' roll deities. Singer/guitarist Andrew Stockdale's magazine-friendly good looks recall a young Noel Redding (the English afro'd bass player from the Jimi Hendrix Experience), but his raucous, riff-heavy guitar playing echoes amp-blasting tones from both Leigh Stephens (Blue Cheer) and Vanilla Fudge's Vince Martell. However impressive his six-string skills are, it's Stockdale's powerful and melodic wail that drives Wolfmother. Although his soulful vocals and fantasy-themed lyrics are often compared to Black Sabbath era Ozzy Osborne, experiencing a live Wolfmother show reveals that Stockdale's elastic vocal range is more akin to Jack White's or that of Rush's Geddy Lee, but listen a little closer and you'll hear that, all comparisons aside, he truly has his own thing going on. Drummer Myles Heskett's powerful, ham-fisted drumming style is Wolfmother's backbone. He leans heavy on the floor toms like John Bonham did on those first two Led Zeppelin albums. But it's Chris Ross who is the musician's musician, pulling double-duty as both bass player and keyboardist. On the four-stringed beast, Ross knows when to hold back and let Stockdale go off on the guitar, but he also lets loose his own rumbling leads. And when you least expect it, he'll sling his bass behind his back and attack the keys on his organ like he grew up space truckin' with Deep Purple's Machine Head on repeat. The chemistry of this power trio is apparent both live and recorded. Wolfmother's 2006 self-titled debut reveals a band that obviously grew up playing music together and listening to the same old school rock records for years and years.
- Eric Shea
- Portions of Album Content Provided by All Music Guide © 2008 All Media Guide, LLC.