Wolfmother

I've been meaning to get into Wolfmother sooner, but my friends have been insisting that I do, so I finally got around to it. They told me they have a classic rock sound mixed in with the new rock sound that's also booming right now. I can see exactly what they mean.

I do love that they are bringing back that older rock sound, that Led Zeppelin feel, that Rolling Stones vibe. I don't like where a lot of new bands are headed, but they seem to really be influenced by older bands and carry it through in their own music.

However, I do have some queries with the band. Some of their bands sound TOO much like older songs. They sound like they almost took some of the guitar riffs and molded them into their own album.

First, the main guitar riff in "The White Unicorn" sounds like the same one used in an earlier classic rong song. I can't identify which one, but I thought it was Led Zeppelin. Just listen to the first 30 seconds of the song and see if you can put your finger on it.

"Woman" sounds like it came directly from the Door's "Roadhouse Blues." Listen to them side by side and see if you can match the extremely similar sound.

"Joker and the Theif" sounds heavily influenced by the Steve Miller Band. It also seems like it was directly taken from another classic rock song too, but I can't put my finger on it either.



Hopefully someone can help me out here. I recognize the riffs but I can't place the classic rock song to them like I could with "Woman"/"Roadhouse Blues." The songs just sound too similar to the others; it makes me have a difficult time enjoying the songs because they just sound like mini rip-offs--kind of like enjoying the Red Hot Chili Peppers' "Dani California" when it sounded just too darn close to Tom Petty's "Mary Jane's Last Dance." It seems like the same scenario to me here, but even more apparent.

Even their album cover screams classic rock. The way they dress, their look, even encapsulates this idea.

But, despite my criticism that I can't help to mention, I really do enjoy their music. Their sound is refreshing after hearing some of these other new bands. They have this cool mix of classic (Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Steve Miller Band, the band of the Doors) mixed in with new rock (Cold War Kids, Mars Volta, Vampire Weekend). The guitarist plays extraordinary well. I'm impressed. The singer's voice comes along with this new age of rock, that high-voiced punk rock sound, but it also sort of imitates older rock bands with high-voiced singers, i.e. Robert Plant. It's a good sound, and it's worth listening to if you're getting sick of all this new music, as I am.

Does anyone know what their band name means?

So, what do you think of Wolfmother?