Wolfmother, the band which has changed line-ups almost as often as it has been compared to Led Zeppelin, has returned with a third helping from surprisingly familiar faces.
Back to a three piece from the four (or at times five) fro-donning musos on second coming Cosmic Egg – Stockdale and Bass/Keys player Ian Peres the only survivors from that release – New Crown is a heavier, less over-the-top album from the internationally successful Australian band.
While having its own distinct sound, Wolfmother often borrows heavily from other bands. In New Crown, released today, the band seems keen on playing up those associations. It’s by no means subtle: track seven, ‘I Ain’t Got No’, channels the Rolling Stones’ ‘(I can’t get no) Satisfaction’ while almost cloning the chorus lyrics of Jagger/Richards’ song.
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Similarly, track nine is titled ‘My Tangerine Dream’ – a likely nod to the German electronic band Tangerine Dream, albeit in name only.
With Stockdale’s strong vocals and instrumentation closer to that of the band’s self-titled debut album, New Crown is good. Nothing mind blowing, but enjoyable with occasional pushes into new sounds for the band.
You can stream the album free on Bandcamp, but get to it quickly; Stockdale only kept his solo album streaming online for a day or two:
[bandcamp width=350 height=786 album=388767933 size=large bgcol=ffffff linkcol=0687f5]
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What do you think of the album? Let us know below.