Review: Wolfmother – Victorious

Wolfmother - Victorious[avatar user=”Ross” size=”50″ align=”left” /]Wolfmother’s debut album came at an interesting time; emo was beginning to make a claim for rock’s next big sound, riding on the coattails of pop-punk as its lustre began to wane. Garage rock/indie was at the height of its powers and the manufactured pop which has been around since the beginning went into overtime. Massive riffs married with powerful lyrics on Wolfmother made the album stand out. It was like a beast from another world. And everything following it was good but it never quite hit the height of the original.

Then there was Victorious. Recorded by main man Andrew Stockdale, drummers Josh Freese and Joey Waronker and one of today’s best producers, Brendan O’Brien, it looks like Stockdale is determined to put Wolfmother back on the map with a bang.

And he’s done it. If there’s a sense of familiarity, it’s because there is one. Like the debut, songs are short, sharp and punchy, yet peppered with the right concentration of complexity to keep your attention. Add in Stockdale’s screaming vocals, gargantuan riffs and the lyrics dripping in imagery; it’s a stark reminder of how good Wolfmother can be.

Lead single “Victorious” smacks of classic Wolfmother and its campy, Flash Gordon-inspired video only adds to the appeal. With Stockdale rolling his r’s in the lyrics along with the thumping, crunchy riffs and the Sabbath-esque solo, it acts as a great introduction to the songs which follow in its stead. Songs like “Best of a Bad Situation” and “Eye of the Beholder” are raucous, bubbling with pomp and flair, the former reminiscent of Rod Stewart’s “Every Picture Tells a Story”.

Meanwhile, “Happy Face” and the acoustic-driven “Pretty Peggy” drop things a notch. The bluesy, trippy psychedelic tones of the latter, melting into the percussion makes for one of the strongest songs on an album full of great tracks. And the juxtaposition of following it with “City Lights” is genius. If there’s one song that could fit at home perfectly on the debut album, it would be this one. It’s a bouncy, jolly romp full of non-sensical lyrics with a massive bass groove that will make you smile for no reason other than its infectious tones.

With ten tracks, only two of which cross the four-minute mark, nothing outstays its welcome and they’ve been crafted in such a way that you don’t wish anything was longer. It’s obvious Stockdale was on a mission; determined to make a statement like Wolfmother did when it appeared out of the ether. Brendan O’Brien has done a great job in the producer’s chair once more; bringing life to the songs and making them all stand out in their own right. I’m not a fan of describing an album with the phrase “Every song could be a single” but it applies here and it doesn’t do the album as a whole a disservice.

Not many albums are as aptly-named as Victorious and it’s a bold claim to make. It’s vintage Wolfmother and the sort which, along with the debut, make you sit up and take notice. Albums like this remind you that modern rock is in rude health, you just have to know where to look.

Victorious is out on 19th February

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April 15, 2016 8:35 PM

[…] something: I haven’t seen Wolfmother. That was something I had to rectify, especially given their latest album is their best since the self-titled […]