After 2009’s comparatively disappointing Cosmic Egg, New Crown amounts to a significant return to form for Aussie
retro-rockers Wolfmother. It may not quite ever hit the heights of
their stunning debut from 2005, but it is still an album of real quality. Like the Birds
of Satan, Wolfmother channel 70s
rock, but this is the harder Black
Sabbath/Deep Purple end of
things (i.e., prog be damned). It’s all
here: big riffs (check out ‘Enemy is in Your Mind’ – chugging brilliance),
wailing guitars and howling vocals.
There’s never exactly anything wildly original on a Wolfmother album – that’s at least partially their appeal – but
they write wonderful rock songs, are exceptional musicians and generally come
across like a rock band from a different (and often better) time, without ever feeling
dated or irrelevant. ‘Tangerine Dream’
is a highlight, and everything is wrapped up nicely with the excellent closer
‘Radio’ (the very definition of scuzz). Eat it, modernity.
sample
track: Enemy is in Your Mind