Wolfmother - Critical Response

Critical Response

Since the release of their first album, the band has gained much success, with reviews being mostly favourable. James Gange of music magazine Maelstrom favourably noted the band to be similar to psychedelic rock group Blue Cheer, that they were "more like Blue Cheer put in ten times the effort and creativity" partly disagreeing with comparisons to blues/hard rock bands like Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath. Chris Nixon of the San Diego Union-Tribune also responded favourably to the band's rock sound comparing it to "the pre-punk angst of MC5 and Steppenwolf's hard-edged psychedelia" and that they add "sparkle with modern recording techniques", comparing them with Kyuss, early Queens Of The Stone Age. Allmusic's Eduardo Rivadavia notes the similarities between Wolfmother's original power trio and Blue Cheer's sound. E.C. Gladstone of Rhino Entertainment's The R'Zine thought the Sabbath, Led Zeppelin comparisons were partly vague and "pretty limiting", noting Wolfmother to be influenced by a mix of "bluesrock ooze", including Yes, MC5, The Nice, Blue Cheer, Jethro Tull and Grand Funk, and "the best version of great rock available at the moment." A review by Total Guitar's Phil Ascott calls Wolfmother's music "ruddy marvellous", and Pitchfork Media's Cory Byroum praises them for "how capably they strike a balance between meaty vintage metal and crisp, stoner-rock melodies". Others hold that their music is too derivative of 70s rock; a Stylus Magazine review by Patrick McNally states "everything there is to say about them is best said by immediate reference to another band and Wolfmother always come up short in the comparison". Another Allmusic review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine is more critical, calling their music "precious, inarticulate, confused" when compared to that of their musical influences, Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Cream and Black Sabbath. During an Interview with ITV at Chicago's lollapalooza in 2007, Mike Patton, frontman of Faith No More was mid-way through the interview when a Wolfmother performance began blaring loudly in the background earning a response from Patton to say "Are you hearing this shit? What year are we in? Forgive me, but Wolfmother you suck!" There was no further immediate comment from the band, but the clip became viral through YouTube. In a later interview with an Australian radio station, Patton stated he was "in a bad mood" when he made his comments and, although he was not a fan, wished Wolfmother well.

Wolfmother has responded to the accusations about the perceived derivative nature of their music, " don't pretend that we're … There's similarities in our sound, but we're not trying to emulate them at all." Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke stated in a 2006 interview with Mojo magazine that he is a fan of Wolfmother. In 2007, Alice Cooper described Wolfmother's sound to Guy Blackman of The Sydney Morning Herald, stating that they are "like a teenage Jimi Hendrix, Steppenwolf kind of band".

In his 'List of the Day', Yahoo! critic Rob O'Connor noted them as number 15 on his list of 'The Greatest Australian Acts'. Furthermore, he compared their sound to be more reminiscent of psychedelic rock bands like Blue Cheer, Toe Fat Revival, Bloodrock and Frijid Pink, rather than comparing them to straightforward hard rock bands like Black Sabbath. Despite previous criticisms of the band, The EG magazine section of The Age newspaper listed Wolfmother's debut album at number 4 on its list of Top 10 Australian Albums, with each of the selections dubbed the best 'highlights of the decade'.

The works of Jimi Hendrix have been influential in the works of Wolfmother, with lyrical references to "Purple Haze" in their song "Dimension." While Wolfmother has been identified as being primarily influenced by '70s rock bands such as Uriah Heep, Budgie, Black Sabbath and fellow Australians AC/DC, their official MySpace profile lists their influences to include mostly '60s groups such as: Pink Floyd, The Beatles, Led Zeppelin and The Who, as well as newer acts, including The Avalanches, Radiohead, The White Stripes and Kings of Leon.

Andrew Stockdale also lists The Doors as a major influence, stating they were one of his favourite bands growing up. During Stockdale's appearance on ABC's My Favourite Album, Stockdale stated AC/DC's T.N.T. to be a favourite, claiming it gave him "shivers". Andrew Stockdale has described the band's sound as "a mix of the playfulness of Earth Wind and Fire with the intensity of Black Flag".