It’s been just under two years since Australian rock trio Wolfmother dropped their last record, New Crown. However, it’s been almost a decade since much of the American mainstream has so much as heard the band’s name. 

Back in the mid-2000s, Wolfmother was riding high on the success of its self-titled debut album, with songs popping up everywhere from football stadiums to Guitar Hero 2, but things have slowed down since then. That’s all about to change with next year’s Victorious, as the band is primed to launch back into the mainstream spotlight with a new album as catchy as it is unforgivingly rock ‘n’ roll. 

Myspace caught up with singer, songwriter, guitarist and founder of Wolfmother, Andrew Stockdale, as he was just putting the finishing touches on Victorious in the studio to talk about the new album, commercial success and Guitar Hero.

How do you think Victorious compares with the other Wolfmother records?

I think it’s good. I think it’s a bit of a return to roots to like the first record. It’s got a bit of that horse galloping beat and riffs that kind of drive it. It’s got a bit of that style back in there. I think it’s a good evolution and continuation of previous work. 

The first time you came to the States (with 2005’s self-titled album), you were almost instantly a success with smash hits like “Woman” and “Joker & the Thief.” What was it like this time around after the little break from that success? 

This feels similar in some ways, because there was a lot of excitement before we even made that record. We sold a lot of copies of our first EP, and we were touring around quite a bit in Australia, Europe and America. Back then, it was like “Oh man, we’ve got to stop and make this record. What’s the point in stopping?” 

It’s a similar thing in that you get a few good photos and a couple of songs end up on the radio, and a few bits just fall into place. Before you know it, you don’t know if it’s the ultimate success or what’s the ultimate goal. Once you’ve achieved that goal, you have something to compare it with. I think it’s just the matter that I’m happy to be making music and playing a show. As for the level of success, you do the best you can and hope that it will take its course and look at the results later.

Wolfmother had “Woman” on Guitar Hero 2 back when having a song on a Guitar Hero game made you more popular than any radio play. What was that like?

I remember playing a place in New Jersey and there was a casual conversation about one of our songs going on Guitar Hero, and at the time it was like “Yeah, sure, what’s Guitar Hero? Cool, no worries.” Before that, it was Myspace. So all these things come along and we’re like “Yep, cool. We’ll do it.”

It doesn’t sink in because you don’t know what’s going to happen yet, like when they switched to royalties on digital downloads and people were like “No, that’s not going to happen. What are they going to do? Buy it on their phones? That’ll never work.” Now that’s all it is. It was the same with Guitar Hero. This kid brought up a plastic guitar and asked me to sign the guitar. I was like “What is this thing?” and then I signed it and I remember seeing the game somewhere in a hotel. Then all this excitement started happening with all these people showing up with computer game guitars and “Woman” started to become bigger and bigger. I said to my manager “Thanks for doing that Guitar Hero thing, I think it really set something off here.” 

Aside from Guitar Hero, “Woman” ended up appearing in everything from movies to commercials, and gathered a lot of praise from fans and critics. Was there ever pressure to recreate a song like “Woman”?

At the time, it was just something we did. I always believed in that song. I always knew it was powerful. I still love it now, I mean when I do a soundcheck, I’ll play “Woman.” It’s got an organ solo, it’s got the riff, lots of drum fills, it’s one of those songs where you can work out every instrument. It was just something that happened. 

Is there any song on Victorious that you think could be the new “Woman”? 

I really like “Love That You Give.” I like “Victorious” too, but I’m comfortable with every song. It’s gotten to the point where I’m like “Yeah, put that one on, now put that one on.” All of it is good, but I think “Victorious” as a recording kind of grabs your attention. “Love That You Give,” that riff stirs the pot and gets things going.