Cosmic Egg (Bonus Track Version)

Cosmic Egg isn’t a big departure from 2006’s eponymous debut. They still sound enamored with heavy psychedelic rock of the late-‘60s and early-‘70s — so much now that Wolfmother has become part of the genre. But singer/guitarist Andrew Stockdale wisely imports some anachronistic innovation allowing Wolfmother to be considered a new branch on an old tree (rather than a mere clone). “New Moon Rising” rocks and rumbles like a denim- and leather-clad biker gang storming through a small town. Contrasting sternum-rattling rawk riffs with smart and catchy melodies comes off like a cross pollination between Black Sabbath and White Stripes. Because he wails with a natural vibrato on those high notes Stockdale will always get compared to Jack White, but musically these songs rock with an authentic authority of their own and Wolfmother’s timeless tunes like “Pilgrim” and “Phoenix” could easily be played on classic rock stations that still “get the Led out.”