Wolfmother have dropped a surprise new album, Rock Out, which has been released independently and without the support of a label, distributor or manager.
The LP – which is the Australian rock outfit’s first in two years since the release of 2019’s Rock‘N’Roll Baby – was announced by Wolfmother via social media, with an accompanying statement revealing part of the effort was assembled in a home studio with the help of a 19-year-old engineer.
“No label, no distributor, no manager, local band, no preorder or eight month setup and a 19-year-old engineer who’s now 20 [Cameron Lockwood] from SAE made in the home studio and up at the studio up in Bangalow,” said the band’s frontman, Andrew Stockdale, on social media.
“Thank You Wolfmother Fans! Who says rock ’n’ roll [is] dead,” he continued. “If having all these things works for you, no worries. I just think if a digital aggregator can get your music out in a few days, what’s the point in all the rest.
“I feel like Spotify and iTunes should be used like an app for musicians. But this is a billion dollar industry. I just enjoy putting music out this way, respect to all the industry folk, [I’m] just enjoying a different trip.”
Stockdale went on to reveal he enlisted the help of Wolfmother regular Hamish Rosser for drumming duties, and recorded all bass guitar, electric guitar and vocal parts himself, apart from the bass on Humble and Only Way, which feature Alexx McConnell.
“Keep in mind this record was done this way mainly due to multiple lockdowns, travel restrictions [and] all the rest,” added Stockdale. “So ultimately we’re fortunate to be able to function in whatever capacity making this record.”
As was the case for Rock'N'Roll Baby, Wolfmother's latest effort has been released via DistroKid – an online distributor service that helps artists get their music on a number of digital streaming sites such as Spotify.
