Australian rockers Wolfmother brought their throwback 70s rock sound to a sold out den Atelier on Friday night.
Bursting onto the scene back in the mid 2000s during rocks last big hurrah, Wolfmother brought their 70s hard rock influences to the table and weren’t afraid to show it. With searing vocals reminiscent of Robert Plant and riff to match, any of the time Wolfmother were onto a winning formula. Unfortunately, line-up changes disrupted their momentum and the band have stuttered along since with sporadic releases but they’re back with a new album and a whole new focus.
Opening last night was Austrian psych rockers Mother’s Cake who’ve built up quite a reputation over the last few years with their blend of heavy psychedelic rock and funk grooves as they went from slap bass solos reminiscent of Flea to crunching cosmic grooves which evoked the sounds of The Mars Volta. With so much going on in their sound it felt cluttered at times and although there were moments when it all clicked, they were few and far between to really connect as a whole.
Kicking off with the title track from their new album “Victorious”, Wolfmother have certainly found their confidence and swagger once more, as they look to recapture that spark that propelled them into the limelight over a decade ago. With the last remaining founding member Andrew Stockdale still able to belt out his soaring vocals, whilst crunching the odd riff or two the band look to still be in good hands.
Although their new album is hailed as a return to form they still leaned heavily on their self titled debut with “Woman” arriving early in the set to the delight of the crowd as plastic cups and beer went flying all over den Atelier. Stockdale’s searing vocals and crunching riffs whipped the crowd up into further frenzy as they launched into “White Unicorn” and “Apple Tree” as he did his best Jack White vocal delivery on the punchy garage rock track.
Whilst their debut album tracks still pack the biggest punch the likes of “California Queen” and “How Many Times” still gave them a good run for their money as Ian Peres on bass and keyboards covered every inch of the stage as his infectious energy spilled out over the crowd. His transition from one instrument to another was something to behold too as he flicked the bass from behind his back with his leg then caught it as he lunged into another ripping bass solo.
As expected the band went to their debut album once more to close the show with “Dimension” and “Colossal” which incited crowd surfing and a mosh pit as the audience revelled in the no holds barred rock. They would return with “Joker & The Thief” which clearly seems to fill the band with as much joy as the audience as they bounded around the stage one final time.
With very few rock bands breaking through these days it’s good to still have the likes of Wolfmother thrashing away because as long as people have said rock is dead there have been bands like this selling out venues all over the world.
den Atelier – 25.11.16
edged in red 