By Samuel Rubenfeld

The year may be young, but the year has already witnessed the return of the power trio to the forefront of rock music.

With the muscle of bands such as New York City’s Secret Machines and Melbourne, Australia’s Wolfmother, the landscape of rock music is changing, with thumping rhythm sections and jarring guitar work that hasn’t been seen since the early 1970s.

The album was recorded in the legendary studio Sound City, the birthplace of classic records like Nevermind and Rumours. With galloping drums, the double tracked vocals and driving, fuzzy guitar work, the band is not trying to invent something new. This record is intended to bring rock music back to its glory days.

The album is sometimes weak lyrically: On “Apple Tree,” singer Andrew Stockdale snarls “Sir, can you remember me/I’m the one that picked the apple tree,” sounding like a half-assed Jack White. Despite sporadic failings, the music is solid throughout. The band strikes a balance between pure hard rock and stoner dirge. This concept is put to the test in “Colossal,” which features a Kyuss-inspired intro, followed by a pure Sabbath riff. A flute finds its way in “Witchcraft,” giving it a Jethro Tull feel.

Raw, raucous rock is back, and Wolfmother is leading the way for it to retake the mainstream charts.