Does anybody remember Wolfmother? They were kickass, even their overplayed radio/movie anthem “Joker and the Thief” was cool after a month.

The Sheepdogs picked right up were Wolfmother… dropped off. They’re currently running the Boogie Rock torch with the likes of Jack White and Fitz & The Tantrums.

The sound is nothing experimental — take the whole power chord riff obsession of early rockers as cliché as Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin, but throw in the fact that we’re 40 years past those acts and that The Sheepdogs have the hindsight to see what’s never been done before with that sound. It’s the musical version of an old dog learning new tricks. But luckily these (sheep)dogs are young, and they’ve got terrific backing of Patrick Carney (The Black Keys) on production and a trophy case full of Juno Awards to boost their confidence. They’re also the only unsigned band ever to be on the cover of Rolling Stone. Except after that they got signed.

“Feeling Good” is the anthem you wanted. You’ve got the whole Gary Glitter “Rock ‘n’ Roll” drumline going, a guitar tone so fuzzy your Furby will start squealing out of jealousy, and a powerful sound matched by a quintessential rock voice. Da Vinci said, “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” This song is so casual that it’s crossed the border into casually sophisticated. 

About The Author

Sam Sklover was a writer for Jonk Music from 2011-2012.