Wolfmother - Cosmic Egg

So many things have changed in the Wolfmother camp since the release of their self-titled debut (most obviously that two thirds of the band that made it quit acrimoniously in 2008), and yet I'd defy anyone to even notice. From the opening of 'California Queen', Cosmic Egg's opening track, it just sounds so much like, well, Wolfmother: distorted organ, wah-guitar, tempo changes, lyrics about mystic hazes and so on. Similarly, first single 'New Moon Rising' is a classic slice of ‘Mother rock (meaning, yes, it sounds a lot like Blue Cheer), but then the last thing anyone wants to hear from Wolfmother is a wild swerve away from what they do best.

Frontman/founder Andrew Stockdale's also gotten some new pieces of guitar equipment: his octave pedal gets a good workout in the rockin' 'Sundial', and the title track reimagines The Doors' 'Roadhouse Blues' as a glam-rock stomp, while 'Pilgrim' could be Status Quo circa 'Pictures of Matchstick Men' (dig that psychedelic chorus!). Naturally there are moments where the band get their Zep on: '10,000 Feet' (which, sadly, doesn't appear to be about centipedes) has 'Kashmir'-style cellos huffing away in the bottom end before the coda turns into the best Helmet song they never wrote, and the slow building 'In The Morning' has some of Stockdales best Robert Plantisms.

Then again, the drab power ballad 'Far Away' was clearly knocked up in an afternoon to make up numbers, and it'll take more than some off-beat guitar bursts to convince the Rolling Stones' lawyers that 'White Feather' isn't a blatant steal from ‘Start Me Up'. However, Cosmic Egg is a worthy successor to the band's debut, with all the strengths and weaknesses that suggests.

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