Customer Reviews

Cosmic Egg

5 star:		(26)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

This is a much more mature album but maintains the full on rock influences of their eponymous effort plus a little bit of adventurousness.

The opener 'California Queen' is followed by 'New Moon Rising' and it's not hard to see why both these tracks have been released as singles. From this great opening pair Wolfmother continue the hard rocking with 'Sundial' offering some Hendrixesque guitar. 'In The Morning' slows things down but only for a moment. Hardly time to catch your breath before '10.000 Feet' and the title track have one scratching their head for another influence superbly executed. Think of Budgie circa 1972 and it is very difficult not to draw the conclusion that Stockdale & Co have been exposed to this brilliantly neglected British band.

'Far Away' brings a temporary halt to the sonic barrage with a beautifully crafted song leaving the feeling that you've heard this before but can't remember where or when. 'In The Castle' opens with an almost prog keyboard intro and psychedelic feel before Stockdale hits his strapes again. The concluding track 'Violence of the Sun' is the most surprising with the band sounding really comfortable with one another playing a mix of jazz and r'n'b with 'wall of sound' drumming. This is a new improved Wolfmother which will please old fans and probably gain some new ones.

A definite step forward while maintaining the appeal of their first album. The new line-up gel well together but as before AS is the core and driving force behind Wolfmother.

Here's a band that pays homage to the "rock god pose" all along
Wolfmother comes back after the nonstop touring during 2006/2007 and after some lineup changes. The only one remaining from the original power trio members is their front man/guitarist; Andrew Stockdale.

Cosmic Egg delivers just as much power as its predecessor self titled "wolfmother"; it contains instant rock staples as the debut album did, but proves that during all that touring his main composer endured much more as a song composer and not just as a riff genius.
What this means is that the "filler" of this record is way better that the first album.

Standout cuts are: "California Queen", "White Feather", "Pilgrim" and "10.000ft."

Sure you get all the myriad of sounds from the influences that plague this band: Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Yes, Free...you name it. But for a change and a boast of freshness sure "old feels good"

Long live to Arena Rock and all the good rock from 1975 through 1979

This album comes after a so-called break-up. well,more bands need to break up,more often!They really came out swinging a huge hammer on this one.It from the start is decidedly harder and the fuzzy psycadelic stuff is even more matured.The previous album could be a bit sophmorish on some of the trippy parts but this record is definantly more aggressive. and its that in the good way.Great job,very good album!

Once again, they did it!!! (Andrew Stockdale with his new band members) they could comprise a bunch of vintage rocker-hard riff songs together with some soft old school melodic rock songs to create this second long play "COSMIC EGG".....my favorourite is still their homonimous debut album, but: MAN THEY CAN ROCK HARD!!!
So if you consider yourself a HEADBANGER and like mostly ROCK-CLASSIC ROCK and like to increase a huge collection of rock albums, i widely recommend you to get your copy of COSMIC EGG in whatever format you want it, but GET IT and blow your mind out!!! .....ENJOY RIDING YOUR CAR FAST (WITHOUT BEIGN CAUGHT) WHILE LISTEN TO THIS ALBUM! GIVES YOU THE CHILLS!!!

Excellent, hard-driving rock album. Strong Sabbath influences, but a much more varied sense of composition and a cleaner sound. Doesn't break too much new ground, but a splendid realization of the classic 70's rock sound with modern influences and production.

First, yes, this is derrivative rock. Based on classic stuff from the 70's. A lot of Sabbath, Zep, a sprinkling of Purple and even Yes. But man it is fun stuff. Especially in the current era of Glee, American Idol, and all the other crappola that is flooding the airwaves. And everything sound so polished! This is a breath of fresh air. Their first album I absolutely loved, and it still is a fav. And I was worried with the reboot of the back with only one member being the constant, but Adam is the man behind the curtain, his singing is fantastic, and he is solid riff master on the guitar. And he is just having so much fun, it is infectious. Cosmic Egg takes a bit of time to settle and get into, but it is great! Full on heavy riffs, great spacy lyrics, and a solid sound that demands attention. This is fun stuff and just relax and enjoy.

The 2009 edition of Australia's Wolfmother is essentially a different band from the one that released their stunning debut in 2006. Only Andrew Stockdale remains from the original trio and officially asserts himself as the main man in the band here. With new members in tow this version of Wolfmother is a leaner, meaner music machine with a wider variety of material in it's repertoire. The band still take their sound from 70's era hard rock with elements of Sabbath, Zeppelin, Deep Purple, and Uriah Heep surfacing throughout the disc. They also occasionally mine more pop oriented fare with comparisons to Cheap Trick, Oasis or even The Beatles to be found. What all of these influences boil down to, is a modern version of classic rock done really really well. Yea, it has all been done before, but these guys do what they do so well that everything sounds fresh and invigorating. I truly enjoy the wide variety of music to be found on this disc, and find the material to be much more diverse that the band's debut. "White Feather" is the only track on the disc that I don't care for that much, but even it has grown on me with repeated listens. All in all, with the new lineup Wolfmother have improved over what was already a very solid band. To my ears this is one of the best heavy rock albums of 2009 and if you are into a somewhat retro inspired release it does not get much better than this. Sadly the album does not seem to have done as well here in the U.S. as the debut did. The album did not get a lot of airplay and seemed to have came and gone fairly quickly. Hopefully this will not dissuade the band from continuing in this direction in the future. It would be sad to see a band with this much talent fade away.

If you liked Wolfmother's first cd, this one will satisfy your hunger for more. It definitely feels like part two of Wolfmother. The only complaint is that there is nothing terribly new here, just more of the same. However, when the same was as good as it was, more is better.

Cosmic Egg is a good sequel to their first album. The sound is very similar to their first album, which in my opinion is a good thing. Wolfmother reminds me of a modern day Led Zeppelin. If you are a Wolfmother fan definitely check this album out!

Wolfmother, the Australian wonder down under have done what few bands accomplish--outdo a critically acclaimed breakthrough album while surviving an almost complete change in lineup. Originally a trio comprising vocalist and guitarist Andrew Stockdale, bassist and keyboardist Chris Ross and drummer Myles Heskett, the band released their debut self-titled album in 2005, and reached number three on the Australian ARIA Albums Chart. Yet, despite all of the acclaim, the cd lacked any real depth or ingenuity and while "Woman" was a capable song it did not hold the weight of all the other tunes surrounding it. They were on the path many have traveled of being a one hit wonder or at best turning out cds that would never reach the acclaim their debut did.

However, lead singer Stockdale apparently had other ideas that have thankfully given way to the Wolfmother cd that should have been released to begin with.

After some co-founding members left the band due to "irreconcilable personal and musical differences," Stockdale reformed the band with new members, exactly what Wolfmother needed not to become a one hit wonder resting on its laurels. Enter "Cosmic Egg" and a new breed of rock for Wolfmother that has indeed hatched.

Echoing equal parts Hendrix, Who, Uriah Heep, that gives the songs a rock, aluminum (not quite metal) and psychedelic feel; "Cosmic Egg" grabs you by the jugular with "California Rising" and throttles you with uncompromising, swagger and too-tight-jeans swagger for twelve tracks.

It may have taken four years and a few goodbyes but "Cosmic Egg" highlights what Wolfmother can really be--a tight fisted, rock band with no apologies and no fears. Cosmic? Sure. Celestial ? Most definitely.

Kim Thore
5 Stars


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