Wolfmother- Back Around!!!

Wolfmother- Emerging out of Sydney Australia circa 2006
The Australian hard rock band that formed in Sydney in 2000 is back after less than a year hiatus since the news of their breakup hit the press.

I was a fan of their music prior to their first tour and exposure in the States in 2006. As such, I took the news of their breakup hard when I heard it first hand from their Label A & R rep on his flight to ‘save the band” back in October 2008. Yes, of all people, to have booked a flight with Wolfmother’s label sitting next to me, this Yank was tied to the hip with the news sort speak.. My first exposure to Wolfmother and other Australian bands, (some of which I still follow and hope they succeed in making that long jump across the Pacific) came while living in Sydney in 2004 and 2006. I was listening to a CD that was a compilation of the bands and songs from the big festival in Sydney on “boxing day” the 26th of January called, Big Day Out. WM featured their single, Woman. on this particular year. They were good; I liked the old retro sound of the 70’s rock. It stirred my interest enough to continue to follow up on their progress. And, as a lot of bands I seem to take interest in do, they grew in popularity.

Although I never caught them LIVE in Sydney, when I arrived back from my “Aussie Holiday” sponsored by my employer there, “Thank You”, I kept a close eye on WM and, when the news hit that they were planning a tour to the US, I was one of the first and perhaps the last to see them perform here in Portland. They had just released their “Dimensions” EP. Just prior to the tour. The band was on fire at that time. It was a very packed house and a wild night of rock and roll in ole Portlandia. I was rekindling an old friendship with a mate of mine I had not seen in years. He was a big rock and roll fan.

Both Andrew and Chris were just amazing that night as the performed to a small but very packed venue in an old theatre in town. I was very pleased with their live presentation, solidifying my dedicated fan hood to the band. They came off just as I had imagined them-simple solid rock and roll in the style I was brought up on in the 70’s. No doubt we were hot, and sweaty, and singing along (five feet from the stage) and bouncing around with the mass of humanity to their music that night. But no worries mate, as they say down under, we had primed ourselves earlier with the appropriate beverages (Our first experience with the infamous-Jaeger Bomb) which coursing through our veins that night complemented the whole Wolfmother experience.

Wolfmother Sizzled and Fizzled
Apparently my one time acquaintance label rep was not very successful that day- as it started out on the wrong foot or shall we say “wing” in our case that day when upon arrival to Sydney Kingsford Smith International Airport that day we had to be diverted to Brisbane for an hour due to severe visibility from the fog in the early morning hours.
As it has been reported, “On 7 August, the band's record label, Universal Records, announced that drummer Myles Heskett and bassist/keyboardist Chris Ross had decided to leave the band due to "irreconcilable differences," and that Stockdale planned on searching for a new line up over the coming months as well as continue working on new materials.

The New Wolfmother – The Latest Update“The new members were confirmed as guitarist Aidan Nemeth, bassist and keyboardist Ian Peres and drummer Dave Atkins in February.(1] On 24 February it was confirmed that the band would perform at two benefit concerts to be held in Melbourne and Sydney on 14 March for Sound Relief, supporting victims of the Victorian bushfires.[2] The new lineup is due to begin recording its first album at the beginning of March; approximately seventeen songs, described as "heavy” and "riff driven", have been written by Stockdale for these sessions.[3] The reformed group also headlined the Clipsal 500 event in Adelaide in March 2009. The new Wolfmother also played a new song confirmed as Back Round live at the MTV Australia Awards on the 27th of March. In an interview Stockdale said that he and his bandmates were leaving for L.A. the next day to start recording. The song Back Round has been released as a free digital download on the Wolfmother official site. The song will also be the first single off the upcoming album”
1. "Wolfmother unleash new lineup". Triple J. 2009-02-12.. Retrieved on 02-17-09
2. "Latest News". Sound Relief. Retrieved on 2009-02-24.
3. “Wolfmother exclusive: Andrew Stockdale on old tensions and new album". Triple J. 2009-02-27. Retrieved on 2009-02-27.

I like the new song, still hoping for a bit more and will wait until I get more exposure to this new lineup before I pass judgment on them. Meanwhile grab a free copy of the new single , Back Around!