Wolfmother – Cosmic Egg (2009) [Modular] // Grade: C-

The first time my ears met Wolfmother’s music back in 2005, I’m sure I was wearing a distinct look of disbelief and confusion. Was this really the newest signee to Modular, a label home to some of my favorite artists including Cut Copy and The Avalanches? I thought Wolfmother surely had to be a joke, or at the least the soundtrack to a new mockumentary. It’s been four years since the release of Wolfmother’s self-titled debut, and after last year’s loss of much of the original lineup, frontman Andrew Stockdale has rebuilt the band and unleashed Cosmic Egg, another stoner mock rock opus on the world’s collective eardrums.

I never expected Wolfmother’s debut to find as many fans or as wide of success as it did. I always had the attitude that if I want to listen to Black Sabbath or Led Zeppelin, I’ll just turn on Black Sabbath or Led Zeppelin. The core of my dislike for Wolfmother is not a lack of appreciation for classic and psychedelic rock. Hell, I grew up on these genres. Unlike bands like Queens Of The Stone Age, Wolfmother favor replicating the hard rock greats over taking inspiration, and presenting listeners with something new.

Despite my dislike for this band, I have to applaud Stockdale on his ability to rebuild a band in disarray and still release an album that feels true and consistent to Wolfmother’s debut. He’s done it so seamlessly that fair weather fans who don’t follow music news will most likely not even bat at eyelash. Start to finish, Cosmic Egg is a little bit harder, a little bit faster and the songwriting is a lot better. Cosmic Egg is unfortunately still heavy on the emulation, but tracks like the rock ballad “Far Away” and the psychedelic whirlwind of a closer, “Violence Of The Sun” begin to offer up original personality and hint that Wolfmother may indeed come full circle at some point down the line.

A drastic lineup change and a much improved sophomore release still aren’t enough to free Wolfmother from the territory of parody, but a spark of originality combined with upcoming tours with The Killers and AC/DC suggest that over time Wolfmother will eventually trade imitation for substance.

- Scrooge McFuck