I often find myself veering between an abhorrence of the way the music industry favours the young, and shaking my head in despair as an endless procession of ‘veterans’ trot out one substandard, going-through-the-motions release after another wishing the old codgers would just hang up their instruments and accepting the fact it’s time to call it a day.
The Wolfmen are built around the musical axis of guitarist Marco Pirroni, who was in the earliest incarnation of Siouxsie and the Banshees, and who went on to hit the big time with Adam and the Ants, after brief stints with Rema-Rema and The Models, and former Ant Chris Constantinou, and this, their second album, was recorded with the assistance of Courtney Taylor-Taylor, of the Dandy Warhols.
‘Married to the Eiffel Tower’ is a stylistically diverse set, but boils down fundamentally to good old fashioned, guitar-driven rock ‘n’ roll.
Swerving effortlessly between new wave, indie and rock 'n' roll, the louche swagger of 'Cat Green Eyes' paves the way for 'Mt Sunday' what sounds like a Britpop Stranglers. The brawling, raucous surf blues rock of 'I'm Not a Young Man Any More' might have a whiff of Primal Scream's 'Rocks' about it, but comes across as a whole lot less pretentious and try-hard and doesn't sound like a bunch of old codgers.
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Truth is, The Wolfmen display the kind of energy that would shame many bands half their age, and they manage to jam in some decent hooks along the way, too. The weakest track on the album is ‘Jackie, is it My Birthday?’, which sees Sinead O’Connor - on whose ‘The Lion and the Cobra’ Pirroni played - provide vocals, but it’s compensated by the glam-pop of ‘Wham Bam JFK’ and the bagged-out groove of ‘Blushing God’.
On the strength of this offering, I wouldn’t suggest they swap their instruments for pipes and slippers just yet.
The Wolfmen Online
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