Wolfmother + The Heartless Bastards

Terminal 5; Sun 8
Music Hall of Williamsburg; Mon 9

Wolfmother

Photograph: Danny Clinch

Andrew Stockdale, the frizzy-haired Australian behind Wolfmother, gives the whiff of an artist who seeks inspiration in the celestial. But Wolfmother’s muse is actually quite earthbound: freaky records issued in the early ’70s by British bands on the tail of psychedelia and at the forefront of hard rock. Stockdale and his backing musicians occasionally tweak the template, but remain strongest at their most reverent. This group finds room for prog rock, not progress.

Wolfmother’s new album, Cosmic Egg, is unafraid of its own ridiculousness—note that it is titled Cosmic Egg—but the solemnity with which Stockdale wails about sundials and castles works to his advantage: Psychedelic music has a friend in the absurd. The album is roaring and tense, with an explosion lurking around every corner. When Stockdale lowers the volume, he becomes the portrait of a man biding his time, waiting only to unleash a vocal holler or monstrous guitar riff.

Joining Wolfmother’s current tour are the Heartless Bastards, an Austin-via-Cincinnati group piloted by commanding singer Erika Wennerstrom. Both Stockdale and Wennerstrom come to town fronting entirely new editions of their respective bands—neither appears to be a forgiving boss. Like the headliner, the Heartless Bastards tap into the ferociousness of Led Zeppelin, playing to the rafters even when performing at small clubs. Yet if Wolfmother bows to Jimmy Page, Heartless Bastards channel Robert Plant—the slightest shift making a world of difference.—Jay Ruttenberg

See more recommended shows