WOLFMOTHER - NEW CROWN - ALBUM REVIEW
The revived Wolfmother released their third studio album New Crown on Bandcamp on 23rd March 2014. This follows from Stockdale's unsuccessful solo album and the underrated Wolfmother album Cosmic Egg.
But the band's hype was generated when they released their first EP which later became part of the eponymous debut studio album that was widely popular in the modern rock scene.
The band have been consistent with their studio albums. Unfortunately, this refers that New Crown has also been released shortly after yet another line-up change.
New Crown kicks off with the short but catchy "How Many Times". Each verse starts with the title of the song. However, this is not obvious to the average listener. Steele's drumming is well executed in the song and it provides the perfect rhythm with Peres' bass to support the guitar. "Enemy Is In Your Mind" explodes with a mach up of guitar and keyboard and eventually leads into a rather low pitched raw riff with Peres switching back to his bass. Fans of the band have compared the track to the sound of 70s metal pioneers Black Sabbath.
"Heavy Weight" also maintains the sound of the album. The lyrics are well written and the buildup up to the chorus is intensive. The chorus itself is simple but effective and relevant. The track is one of the important ones in reflection to the whole album.
The titled song of the album "New Crown" gets stuck straight into high pitched guitar sounds but crumbles down solely into a slow bass riff during the middle of the track. It attempts to build up to the high energy levels that it reached at the beginning but only reaches halfway before it finishes.
"Tall Ships" gives across a lot of emotion. With some more high pitched vocals, it expresses the quieter reflective side of life. The vocals is however deficient in quality. But who's to say it has to be clean and sparkling? The organ solo suits the mood of the song but is unfinished by the time the main riff restarts. The guitar solo is a little broken up and you could perhaps say it needs mending.
"Feelings" is a bit sloppy and cheap. Energetic and fast paced, it was probably written in under an hour to add variety to the album. It's catchy with its familiar sounding bass line and unusual lyrics.
After a repetitively plain "I Ain't Got No" and a short, 'riffy' "She Got It", comes "My Tangerine Dream"- another ordinary 'not much can be said about it' kind of song. "Radio" sounds a little too familiar with previous tracks with simple guitar parts and the same drum fill used in Heavy Weight. That leaves us with the finisher "I Don't Know Why" which is very light toned, beach themed and Tame Impala sounding.
Lead Singer Andrew Stockdale has said "New Crown was written to sound good for a band to play live." However, could have this been used as an excuse for the lack of production in the album. Overall, it has defiantly more of a psychedelic rock sound and a raw, dirty, yet catchy tone. The vocals are still Stockdale's iconic voice with some added eccentricity. There isn't any major sparks in the album - a few positive and energetic tracks but nothing that stands out and nothing that will be listened to for many years to come. There will be pleased fans with the variety and slight change in sound and slightly disappointed fans who might have been expecting classic rock miracles and repeats of the debut record. It isn't likely to build on the fan base because of the lack of promotion. But the question remains- Is this a step in the right direction for Wolfmother? It's debatable.
By Kieran Collins | 6th April 2015
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