As Ellie Rowsell unpacks “The Beach,” one of several climactic, holy-shit moments off her band’s new album Blue Weekend, she describes the song as “classic Wolf
On
Blue Weekend, the much-loved London band Wolf Alice provide a worthy follow-up to their Mercury Prize winning second album
Visions Of A Life. Producer Markus Dravs is a frequent collaborator of Arcade Fire, and here he has helped Wolf Alice hone an expansive yet intimate sound reminiscent of the Canadian group, and fitting for the huge stages the band are now accustomed to playing.
The formula remains largely the same – singer Ellie Rowsell’s subtly raspy vocals and confessional lyrics buttressed by the grungy indie pop they made their name with – although there are efforts made to deviate from this, with varying success. The catchy, ’80s-tinged ‘How Can I Make It OK?’ is reminiscent of Haim, in the best possible way, but the saccharine ‘Safe From Heartbreak (If You Never Fall In Love)’ and pastel punk ‘Play The Greatest Hits’ seem to lack conviction, on an album which otherwise packs an emotional punch.
01 June 2021
Ellie Rowsell and Joff Oddie discuss how their evolving playing, the pandemic and a gigantic skull pedal made Wolf Alice s upcoming record, Blue Weekend
(Image credit: Burak Cingi/Redferns / Chiaki Nozu/WireImage via Getty)
It’s crazy to think that just 10 years ago, the pair of players at the heart of one of the UK’s biggest rock bands had barely touched an electric guitar. Formed in 2010 by Ellie Rowsell and Joff Oddie, Wolf Alice was initially an acoustic duo, combining Ellie’s songwriting chops and Joff’s fingerstyle acoustic prowess.
At that point, London was in full sway to Mumford & Sons’ fairy-lit folk revivalism and, in retrospect, crying out for a band willing to drop the pastoral pastiches for something harder, heavier and, frankly, more fun. The group’s grunge-y conversion, with the addition of Joel Amey and Theo Ellis’s powerhouse rhythm section, was just the ticket, and their debut album
“Everything’s a bit more focused on the lyrics and the melody” – An Interview with Wolf Alice
Credit: Jordan Hemingway “Everything’s a bit more focused on the lyrics and the melody” – An Interview with Wolf Alice By Connie Seamer on
After their Mercury Prize-winning
Blue Weekend. I sat down with Ellie and Joel to chat about the new record.
Blue Weekend signals the band’s full realisation of their sound. While it sounds familiar to their previous records, the new album takes Wolf Alice in a new, more mature, direction.
On these differences in the new album’s sound, Ellie quotes another journalist who described it as “fuller and wider, yet simpler”. “I can’t quite elaborate on it but I feel like she got it right”, she says.
Published May 5, 2021, 7:15 PM
Wolf Alice
Wolf Alice, Britain’s best band, today released their uncompromising new single “Smile”. The track was inspired by lead singer Ellie Rowsell’s desire to fight back against those who try to define her, and is the second single from their highly-anticipated third album, Blue Weekend, the follow up to the Mercury Prize winning Visions of a Life
“Smile” is carried along on a tide of visceral energy, a song destined to be a live favourite. The band envisaged this during their time recording Blue Weekend in Brussels during lockdown. Rowsell states, “this is one of the songs we wrote thinking that we would play it live. I miss that feeling of singing on stage. It’s like screaming into a pillow or something you can get away with being more nasty. There’s a whole other part of me missing.”