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A recent report led by a combination of the nation’s leading research bodies has found that the Australian hard rock band Wolfmother’s self-tilted debut album was the shit.
The research into this finding was conducted by both the CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation), The Australian Bureau of Statistics and the Australian Research Council.
After months of surveys, data comparisons and both qualitative and quantitive market research – the study has found that they just don’t make rock albums like that anymore. And rarely made rock albums like that back then.
Released in 2005, ‘Wolfmother’ the album was certified five times platinum and has not stopped playing in sporting stadiums ever since.
For nearly a decade upon it’s release, almost every single title on the track list could be heard on any given night in Australia’s most popular nightlife precincts of Kings Cross, Fortitude Valley and Melbourne’s King Street. It has also appeared heavily in Australian advertising campaigns in the year’s since it first graced the airwaves, with respondents clarifying that even as a commercial tool – none of the songs have ever grown old.
“What we’ve found is that [Wolfmother, 2005] is the type of record that was able to not only blur genres but also blur audiences and generations” says lead researcher, Professor Kram Van Loopin.
“It’s also one of those albums where the lyrics don’t actually appeal to the listeners on a personal or emotional level. It’s just pure, unadulterated rock music”
As the album approaches it’s 20-year-anniversary, the report also praises a longevity in the sound.
“Wolfmother could headline a major festival in any Australian city tomorrow” said the professor.
“But the music industry has changed so much since 2005 that we don’t even have music festivals anymore”
The report labels this seminal album, and the musicians who recorded it, as a spectacular example of domestic musicianship that has withstood a complete overhaul of contemporary popular culture
“In the age of TikTok and YouTube overloading the everyday Australian’s mind with a rapid turnover of foreign trends and algorithmic content, we don’t even have ‘Australian bands’ anymore” he said.
“But we’ll always have Wolfmother”
