Review: Wolfmother - Cosmic Egg

Cosmic Egg, in stores October 27, is probably one of the worst album titles I've heard in quite sometime. Perhaps Coheed and Cambria's flawed 2005 classic Good Apollo I'm Burning Star IV Volume 1: From Fear Through The Eyes Of Madness holds the record simply because it's so audacious. However the music offered on Wolfmother's second LP isn't as bad as the title may suggest - even if it may become a little tiresome or boring.

The Australian quartet debuted in 2006 (as a trio) behind the monster rock anthem "Woman" and saw their popularity skyrocket when the song was featured in the Guitar Hero 2 video game. The band's self titled debut was a solid first outing and went gold in the United States.

The band returned to the studio in 2008 to record the anticipated follow up when bassist Chris Ross and drummer Myles Heskett suddenly left the band citing "creative differences" thus leaving vocalist / guitarist Andrew Stockdale the only original member.

Stockdale vowed to carry on Wolfmother and brought in 3 new faces to help him finish the album. These new musicians are simply there in the background and do Stockdale's (who was always the main creative force in the band) bidding.

While 2005's Wolfmother was a more cohesive album from start to finish, Cosmic Egg is a mixed bag of sorts that finds the newly restructured band looking for a new direction musically yet still trying to use the same tricks.

The riffs that made the band famous are still here - even if they aren't the most original. Stockdale still impresses with his playful guitar work and his screeching vocals. The grooves built here are more akin to early White Stripes recordings where a fast tempo suddenly gives way to a slow sludgy breakdown. Wah Wah pedals and blistering guitar solos abound on almost every track it seems.

The opening track "California Queen" is a perfect example. The verses sound like a new age biker theme full of fist pumping rhythm and fuzzy guitar pulses. The chorus' slow down and build off of a groove made for rockers and rollers alike.

"Sundial" is the best song on the album and features the most head bangable riff since "The Joker and the Thief". Here a new age Led Zeppelin riff meets subtle piano work and one of the more memorable melodies that Stockdale has ever concocted.

Some of the more toned down efforts such as "In The Morning" and "Far Away" surprise simply because it shows Wolfmother trying to reach beyond their self imposed rigid structure. Instead of epic solos and howling vocals being the focal point, slick songwriting and harmonies take center stage.

However Cosmic Egg tends to recycle too many ideas. Songs like "10,000 Feet", "In The Castle" and "Violence of the Sun" all come off as the band trying too hard to write the next "Kashmir" or "Stairway To Heaven". These tunes collapse under the weight of their own epicness and just become laughably bad. Instead of reaching for something new, Wolfmother simply copy cat what a million other bands have done a million other times.

And that is probably my biggest complaint I have with Cosmic Egg. While the beginning of the album starts out with good intentions and keeps you hooked and satisfied for the first few tunes, half way through the album all the riffs, solos and choruses about "Sun Kingdoms" start to bleed into one leaving the listener feeling exhausted.

What made songs like "Woman" so appealing was the fact that it only clocked in at 2:32 yet still managed to inject the right amount of adrenaline and not completely overwhelm you. When you got tired of the riff, the song ended. Cosmic Egg features 3 songs clocking in at over 5 minutes and has an average song time of 4:30.

Perhaps Wolfmother, and Stockdale in particular, would be better off if they learned that bigger is not always better.

Grade: C

(Note: not all the songs had links for you to hear them because this album ins't even out yet, and i was lucky to find what i did. sorry for the bad quality youtube videos. i'll post real links to the songs when i find them)