IN REVIEW: Wolfmother - "Victorious"

Depending on who you ask, Victorious could be Wolfmother's third, fourth or fifth album. Keep Moving, originally slated to be the third album to bear the Wolfmother name, was instead released as an Andrew Stockdale solo record in 2013. Then, a year later, the rough version of a new Wolfmother record, New Crown, was posted to the band's Soundcloud page. The latter record eventually saw a limited physical release (as of this writing it's not available for purchase except in digital format), but good luck getting your hands on a CD of it unless you caught the short window when it was sold on their website.

So, according to my CD shelf, Victorious is Wolfmother's third official major release, which would also make it the first properly released and promoted album from the group since 2009's Cosmic Egg. That's not to say that Keep Moving and New Crown don't exist, but that is to say that unless you've been paying very close attention this record's been a long time coming.

If the idea was to fly under the radar for a few years and build up the collective consciousness' fondness of Wolfmother by way of absence, then I suppose for a majority of non die-hards Victorious will be successful. Much like last year's re-release of Wolfmother's first record, Victorious seeks to remind listeners of the chops and hooks that made Stockdale and his revolving cast of band members the catalyst for stoner rock's late-aughts resurgence.

The title track makes this much clear; its chugging riffage and propulsive drumming, combined with the loose narrative of a female conqueror, might as well have been subtitled We're the Guys Who Had a Hit with 'Woman'. That said, it is a little more layered in tone than the band's earlier work, with its subdued bridge and obligatory homage to Black Sabbath's Paranoid toward the end. Lead-off track The Love That You Give also drips of Sabbath worship and, though it's not like this wasn't always Wolfmother's bread and butter, it does sound like a slightly less fresh concept over a decade on.

Still, there is progression here; Baroness packs in some stomps and hand claps, as well as a huge chorus with arena-filling aspirations. It's no transcendent moment, but it is a true highlight. Ditto the out-of-nowhere acoustic balladry of Pretty Peggy, a track that leans more toward the Jack White side of the spectrum than the Ozzy Osbourne side. It's a heartfelt tune with an infectious chorus, though its lyrics are a bit on the trite side. You know, like a true contender for smash hit status.

The second half starts of on a muscular note with The Simple Life, which sees the tempo pick up on its verses while employing a half-time chorus to maximize impact before giving way to a spacey bridge. It's a bit all over the place, but it works. Then comes the album's Maggie May moment in Best of a Bad Situation (with the added twist of hand claps), more readings from the Book of Sabbath (Gypsy Caravan, Happy Face) and the big rock ending Eye of the Beholder, which smacks a little of Icky Thump era White Stripes at the outset but spreads itself out throughout the course of the song.

After a few spins, I'm not terribly put off by anything on Victorious, and it doesn't hang around long enough to become fatiguing (at a shade over 35 minutes it's easily Wolfmother's shortest album). However, aside from the few unexpected detours, nothing makes the kind of impression that their best tracks have in the past. Not many fans will choose Eye of the Beholder over Joker and the Thief, just as not many will see Victorious as a significant improvement over any of Wolfmother's previous records. It's not a bad record, just not the roaring, triumphant return it was likely envisioned as.

February 19, 2016 • Universal

Highlights Victorious • Baroness • Pretty Peggy