Asif Khan Inc.

Cosmic Egg – Wolfmother

The land of the Oz. Nestled in a far flung corner of the world, it wouldn’t have taken much of an effort for it to have gone unnoticed and content in its existence known singularly to its inhabitants. Not content with languishing in ignominy, its residents however chose otherwise. And music, it seems, turned out to be one of the biggest culprits. AC/DC reached levels of success which has made them one of the staple ingredients of the classic rock n roll sound. So did INXS – though the departure of their vocalist during a ‘self pleasure’ experiment gone bad, bought them to an abrupt end. There were others as well – the mush infected pop of Air Supply, the reggae fusion of Men At Work – but not many were able to make their mark on the international music scene. (Except of course, the utterly delectable Kylie Minogue! How could we forget her out of this?) Since then, probably the only band to make noise reaching decibel levels which would resound across the farthest reaches from the Australian outback came into notice just a few years back. They made a lot of noise then. They have been making a lot of noise since then. And they have decided its time for an encore now.

“Cosmic Egg”, the follow-up to the hugely successful self titled debut of Wolfmother, doesn’t come as much of a surprise. It’s been four years since they released their debut, so the timing of the album is just about perfect. The ill-timed exit of keyboardist/bassist Chris Ross and drummer Myles Heskett has definitely been quite a mournful episode. But this probably came in way of frontman and guitarist Andrew Stockdale as just a road bump on his journey to take Wolfmother to newer heights. Quickly forming a quartet, he resumed work and got on to new material, which resulted in this album, in a span of just about a year. A feat which is mighty impressive, if we consider that he started from minus two thirds of the original lineup, and then reduced his presence to one fourth of the band. Yet, while you listen to the new album, you can’t really say if the album has any marked differences from the manner in which Wolfmother originally defined its sound. It’s the same old mix of rock n roll, influenced by the all time heavyweight biggies whose classic overtures make up for even the subtlest nuances present in modern day popular rock music. The no surprise part ends there. Admittedly, Wolfmother is one of the best bands to merge the classic rock and roll sound into modern rock. But it does strike you when certain sections of the album pose themselves as too glaring a tribute to the masters. Stockdale possesses a fine voice, but when the wails become as haunting as Ozzy on a grinding Iommi guitar framework, as on “Sundial”, you begin to think about artistic merit. Similar is the treatment given to “In The Morning” with the keys and guitar led, mildly vocal intro reminding you of that floating void that made up some of the Beatles’ work. Not to say that either song doesn’t deserve its place on the album. “In the Morning” builds itself up into a flurry haze of guitar work, while “Sundial”, with its persistent questioning lyrics makes for a fantastic listening session. “California Queen” kicks in well as the opening track; with an energy made up of groovy strings and a fast paced drum count, the title may well serve as a reminder that their presence isn’t reserved to the Down Under now. “White Feather” derives itself from the makeshift band Stockdale formed before giving final shape to the current lineup, while “Far Away” probably serves as song you might want to use as a serenade. The title track with its improvised blues based intro leads into classic rock format, but “Pilgrim” makes you sit back and revel as the band reveals its true colours. By then, “Phoenix” rises up from the ashes, and not just figuratively, with its thick guitar tones and organ keys, closely upon the heels of the transcendental queries of “In the Castle”. The new members – Peres, Nemeth and Atkins – seem to have fitted well into Stockdale’s scheme, because in the end everything falls fairly well together as a well rounded classic rock sound. And Wolfmother fans would definitely not be complaining.