Wolvespirit

Dreamcatcher

Written by: BV on 17/04/2013 11:03:38

The Würzburg-based stoner outfit Wolvespirit is yet another one of those bands that follow the long and proud tradition of playing retro-inspired rock and beefing it up a few notches with down-tuned guitars and extreme amounts of fuzz, in an attempt to relive or perhaps recapture that pure 70’s spirit of the long gone but not forgotten past. So what makes Wolvespirit different from the rest of them, and is there anything really cool about a band that boldly goes where many bands have gone before? Let’s find out:

My initial impression of Wolvespirit was that they sounded awfully similar to the Danish stoner rockers in Fuzz Manta, in the sense of the soundscape and the fact that both bands can boast female vocalists. The similarities don’t end there though, as most of Wolvespirit’s debut album “Dreamcatcher” has the same ‘rehearsal-space jamming’ atmosphere to it, as Fuzz Manta’s “Vortex Memplex”. Enough of the similarities though, as Wolvespirit have quite a few tricks up their sleeve that aren’t necessarily linked to other bands.

Opening track “Blowin’ up” opens with a mellow acoustic guitar riff supporting the powerful and throaty vocals before turning into a full-blown riff-mania. This slow and steady rocker has everything I have come to expect from a stoner release, as the drums are neat and tight sounding, the low-end of the bass is tearing my speakers apart and the guitar riffing shifts from subtle to overpowering in no time. The track is greatly finished off by layering a somewhat ‘traditional’ guitar solo on top of everything, utilizing the go-to effect of guitar solos – the wah-wah pedal.

Following “Blowin’ Up” is a song that I, at first, wouldn’t have figured I would get to hear on a release in this particular genre. “Holy Smoke” is an up-tempo boogie-rock track that contains all the same elements mentioned previously, plus the added sound of a really cool sounding 70’s style organ in the chorus of the song. The vocals on this track are also quite a lot better than on the remainder of the album, for unknown reasons – somehow they just seem to suit this particular track extremely well.

The jam-based atmosphere of the album was somewhat intriguing at first. However, due to the sheer runtime of the 10 tracks that “Dreamcatcher” consists of, the jamming nature soon begins to feel like an unsatisfying payoff after watching a movie. – In other words, I hear tons of cool jams, nice riffs and the like in the songs but somehow I feel like many of the tracks have become excessively long for no other reason than ‘they might as well be’. The title track “Dreamcatcher” is an example of this, as it is nearly 7 minutes long whilst no real development beyond the standard verse/chorus/verse/jam/chorus etc. formula of songwriting takes place. It’s a shame really as I like most of the tracks on “Dreamcatcher”. Unfortunately though, it seems Wolvespirit have fallen into one of the pitfalls I ever so often have to address – bland repetitiveness.

Nonetheless, Wolvespirit have piqued my interest and, in due time, hopefully they will settle on a songwriting formula that will match their awesome soundscape and the colossal sound of their riffing.

Download: Blowin’ Up, Holy Smoke, Space Trippin’
For The Fans Of: Fuzz Manta, Wolfmother, Black Mountain
Listen: facebook.com

Release Date 05.04.2013
Self-released



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