Wolf Alice

Top 3 album in the UK. i don't think anyone saw that coming. they sound like Madder Rose to my ears. nice though. is this the bigest indie band of the last few years not to have their own thread?

anyway this one's my fave

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9E-RQgDJcrY

There was talk about starting a dedicated thread in the Rolling 2015 Favorites thread, but it never happened I guess.

I've already made the point a dozen times that I thought the 7" version of "Bros" was one of my favorite indie rock guitar heavy songs of the last few years, and now I'm mad at the band not for re-recording it (it's their song, they can do whatever they want with it even though the new version sucks), but for removing all traces of the superior earlier version from steaming platforms and digital retailers. Eff you, Wolf Alice!

I still haven't listened to the album. Outside of the original "Bros" and "Moaning Lisa Smile," I think they're a band that's pretty long on sounding good but pretty short on writing good songs.

Listening now to the album: hmm, okay, some of these songs are really nice. "Freazy" in particular.

drummer is fantastic though

Lately whenever I encounter someone particularly annoying I hear "you're a dodgy fucker as well!" kick around my brain

this record is great

this record is fantastic, highlight of the year for me

Yep.

Better than I expected, better than I hoped.

Bits of this sounded really lumpen and uninspired in the way you expect from basically 100% of hyped Brit rock bands these days but then a song would just suddenly explode into a joyous pop moment. Jury's out but if they could put together an entire album as good as those best bits they'd be incredible.

if they could put together an entire album as good as those best bits they'd be incredible.

Exactly how I feel, although we might have different ideas about the best bits.

I'm not surprised this charted so high (in the UK). I had been looking forward to this, but I am mostly disappointed. Too much of the material drags excessively (including "Your Loves Whore"). My favorites remain "Giant Peach" and "Moaning Lisa Smile." Maybe "Fluffy." "Turn to Dust" is nice, but I'm on the fence about it. "You're a Germ" is fine, though it seems a bit demo-ish. "Bros" is pretty good, but the earlier version was better, even if I can't remember exactly what it sounded like. I need to listen to this some more, but that's the thing: I'm finding it a bit of a slog.

There are some good, possibly superior, live/studio live versions of some of these songs on youtube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_MTHwAp-_Q
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IorLPeOuEuI

"Freazy" was the one that stood out for me.

lol if anything "giant peach" and "moaning lisa smile" drag the most imo

Hate Giant Peach, love Moaning Lisa Smile. ¯\(ツ)/¯

You're all wrong.

"your loves whore" is actually probably my favorite song on here, other than the last minute of "swallowtail"

Listening to it now, and the thing that strikes me is how it feels like it's barely there, until it shifts gears. around 3:30. A lot of this is down to Roswell's vocal delivery.

I guess the vocals are meant to sound intimately conversational?

that giant peach song rules

Peachy is riffs galore, and I like how it gets all Sonic Youth at around 3:05 (singles version, not the one I linked to above). I also can't help hearing echoes of the Psychedelic Furs' "India" at around 1:15, but that's probably just a personal problem. I hear as much of the 80s in it as the 90s.

I would have preferred if they hadn't made Roswell's vocals on that song sound like the Go-Go's or whatever they are going for there, not that I hate that sound, but her natural vocal sound suits the song better.

I'm listening to the album and it's pretty funny how this is almost structured to divide ILX, but honestly I think it's better for having the pop side and the more trad US underground rock style

I don't think of myself as very rock oriented at all, but I like Wolf Alice better in rocking mode. (Almost everything else I've liked this year has been dance pop, indie pop, hipster pop shit, etc.)

You could have a point in general though. If more of ILX pays any attention to this band, that might become clearer.

So wait there are THREE versions of "Bros?"

Oh I guess one of these is a remix of some sort. Not sure where this came from but I have it in my iTunes for some reason. Anyone know where this is from? It's pretty nice...

The album cover reminds me of one of those old occult/mediumistic photos.

hadn't twigged the similarity btw this and Moaning Lisa's Smile.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93jsY-YdZ1s

this was better than I expected it to be; it's a weird record to be so big. No real poppy hooks; also it's not really a standout for the sort of music it is either, but it's pleasant

I listened to this a few days ago after seeing how popular they had become and skimming this thread and I didn't expect it to sound the way it did. It reminds me a lot of Belly at their most introspective.

This is really growing on me.

Fuck I wish I'd listened to this before I submitted my eoy ballot.

#BRITBREAKWOLFALICE

http://www.brits.co.uk/british-breakthrough-vote-guide

i dig this song!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6vEE3Plk48

i seriously might go buy this album. i love riff rockin' with cool women singers. it must be the veruca salt fan in me.

best video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UkghyKKQDss

love this too:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1KhC2qNLGd4

this is a great record scott! I hope you like it

Some of the live versions of "Giant Peach" are better than the album version, over all. This one for instance:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6-wbuON8Qk

(Although the climax is maybe best in the studio version.)

*overall*

(I am really tired.)

i ordered the CD online. i got the U.S. version which is slightly different than the U.K. version? Just like in the old days.

This is my favorite rock album in awhile.

i had no idea. until the other day.

Really pissed off that I missed out on them last year. They're touring America now, but the only tour stop local to me is at a festival that I can't afford tickets to.

They're opening for the 1975 who are apparently playing arenas. How the hell is that happening? Same thing with Alt J, who sold out Madison Square Garden.

they have a sizeable and enthusiastic fanbase

i mean i too was surprised but they were selling out everything beneath arenas

i even love their cover of wicked game.

sounds so cool. they make it the guitar anthem it was meant to be.

this was my #1 in the eoy poll and i was surprised that it didn't get enough votes to make the list, seemed like a Big Record but ilm never bit

played all the videos last night on the PS4 for rufus and maria and now maria says SHE'S the number one wolf alice fan in the house and she's following them on twitter.

I don't really get the love for this, it felt stodgy and uninspired, except for the bits that weren't, which were brilliant. Shame there weren't that many of them. I fully expect them to make an amazing second or third album.

I listened to the album again, inspired by this thread revival, and I still find it hard to get through it. But I still love individual songs and performances, especially some of the live ones. I am hopeful about their next album. I still tend to prefer their rocking material to their more pop-oriented stuff, though, so that could be a problem, if they really intend to head more toward pop.

I suspect its their live shows that is really building their momentum at this point.

Really? I think the album's amazing. It feels like a living thing.

What would you consider their pop-oriented material other than Freazy? Everything other than that is rock, yes? And last I heard, they weren't even playing Freazy live because they just didn't know what to do with it.

Just checked that last statement and I guess they have played it live, but I thought I read an interview with them where they admitted to not being comfortable with how it fit into their sets.

"Bros" is poppy. Reminds me of The Sundays.

this too. this video gave me chills the other night. so pretty.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_QBC_pDkeU

I like some of the non-rock songs on the album, but a lot of them feel like filler and are difficult for me to make it through. "Freazy" is one of the better ones. I also like "Turn to Dust" (though I'm always a little ambivalent about her mannered delivery there). "Bros" is okay. A little too much like the Sundays. I wish I had a copy of the earlier version Johnny Fever keeps mentioning, since I liked it better though I don't remember exactly what it sounded like at this point. I don't really like the low-energy vocals on most of "Your Loves Whore."

Songs that really lose me: "Lisbon" (and wait, this one is pretty rock), "Silk" (I just realized part of this reminds me of MIA) although I feel like there are various pieces here I could like if they were rearranged, "Swallowtail" (this is what happens when you give someone else a chance to sing), "Soapy Water," and "The Wonderwhy."

"lisbon" is prob my favorite song!

also imo you can't be too much like the sundays

lol i think you listed all my favorite songs from this record. "soapy water" is so gorgeous

swallowtail is so gorgeous

soapy water is a standout to me too

gone fucking nuts on the vinyl rarities front too

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/WOLF-ALICE-BLUSH-2013-UK-10-EP-CHESS-CLUB-CC060-NO-DOWNLOAD-CARD-/272175311871?hash=item3f5ee9abff:g:H3EAAOSwmmxW2XPV

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Wolf-Alice-Vinyl-/182086468873?hash=item2a65330509:g:v4YAAOSwgApXBXmY

They just posted that they're going to be on the new Ghostbusters soundtrack. No idea if it's going to be an older song or something new though.

giant peach into blush. so good. starts at 30:00. i'm like a deadhead for wolf alice. always looking for the best giant peach. this one rules.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ap61CXBy-d8

I was just listening to part of that Thursday night. Some good stuff, but the songs I found draggy on the album I still find draggy. Didn't get as far as Giant Peach, so I might return to it.

Are you talking about a live album or something?

No, I meant the studio album.

Ha I was using the zing app which didn't show this video. Now I see it.

This band is great.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eoO4JGr_FM

Is On The Road worth watching?

http://pitchfork.com/thepitch/1467-24-hour-party-people-director-michael-winterbottom-tucked-a-love-story-inside-a-tour-doc/

Possible new album news?

COMING SOON
SIGN UP BELOW
Xhttps://t.co/tveSixMztO pic.twitter.com/Rwlmd4GtIq

— wolf alice (@wolfalicemusic) May 4, 2017

Anyone else get a postcard?

http://www.nme.com/news/music/wolf-alice-announce-new-single-yuk-foo-2082025

Not yet.

New song should be up in about half an hour.

YUK FOO. TODAY. 7PM BST @AnnieMac @BBCR1 https://t.co/vqcSnl2UEl pic.twitter.com/Glsr1MJpEa

— wolf alice (@wolfalicemusic) June 12, 2017

http://www.nme.com/news/music/wolf-alice-announce-new-single-album-and-uk-and-world-tour-2087538

Badass. Tour starts next month!

produced by Justin Meldal-Johnson, brad is gonna die

AAAAAAAH

no Toronto date :/

song is potentially the hardest thing they've ever put out

it's fun and seems like an ideal taster in advance of whatever the "pop" single will be

Boring.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PtUOH4xoP-I

this band is extremely good

yes

Hmm, noted...

the only new rock band i like really. or listen to. well, maybe savages too. but that is kinda linked to my worship of their singer.

although rufus is slowly but surely making me a car seat headrest fan...

can't face hearing this in case it's crap.

it's good!

this band rules

can't face hearing this in case it's crap.

This band is so all over the map that if you don't like one thing they release, just wait a week and you might like the next one.

(I liked "Yuk Foo," but this is kinda boring imo.)

(And I'm still mad at them for pulling down the original version of "Bros" from all platforms.)

Yeah they're all over the map for sure, JF otm

I like when they're doing a mash of shoegaze and grunge but when that dude sings, ugh

"swallowtail" rules, dude or no

probably should re-listen, Brad

Silk is my favourite Wolf Alice track, which is kind of an outlier?

both this and "Yuk Foo" are pretty good, but the thing is given that every Wolf Alice song I have heard sounds like the work of a different band, I never think to listen to them because I have no internal sense of how they sound.

i mean, i feel like they sorta have three modes: aggressive and sludgy, dreamy and shimmery, and the few songs that occupy the center of that venn diagram ("your loves whore"/"lisbon"?). what surprised me about my love is cool is that it still seemed to maintain an individual sensibility even as it careened between these styles?

lol and even as i'm saying all of this i don't think your impression is wrong katherine

OK this is more like it. I did not like the Yuk Foo song. That first album is a stone classic, one of the very best guitar records in years.

it still seemed to maintain an individual sensibility even as it careened between these styles

Yeah, the stylistic shifts were jarring to me at first, especially Swallowtail and Freazy. But I grew to like the whole thing pretty quickly. The variety makes it work well as an album.

i feel like they sorta have three modes: aggressive and sludgy, dreamy and shimmery, and the few songs that occupy the center of that venn diagram ("your loves whore"/"lisbon"?).

Was just going to say something like this, though I hadn't figured out how to describe their modes. I don't think their is such outrageous variety in their work at all. The latest song sounds of a piece with similar tracks on their first album. I like it much better than Yuk Foo, but not sure how much I like it as such.

at least half of their template for the last album seemed to be "shutterbug" by veruca salt and i think this explains why i like them so much.

prefer the demo of Your Love's Whore to the album version but I get why they re-calibrated it for the album

Lollaalooza 2016 video kicking my ass - not since Queens or Pj has a band rocked my ass off so much

I had tickets to see them at Rock and Roll Hotel (a 400 capacity venue) on Friday night and had to sell them at the last minute because something came up. Hopefully they'll come back in 2018 and play 9:30 club or something.

obligatory Zane Lowe interview is up on Beats1 now, which I don't have access to, but usually they repost on youtube within a day or so.

https://www.facebook.com/wolfalicemusic/photos/a.587979837917999.1073741825.156582101057777/1377229045659737/?type=3&theater

Don't Delete The Kisses rules

No, but Beautifully Unconventional rules.

The beginning keeps reminding me of whatever sample "1 Thing" is built around.

Why doesn't Don't Delete Your Kisses rule? yeah just hearing beautifully unconventional, man this band is so classic. 1 Thing is The Meters sample yeah

I'm just not into the spoken word part that's woven through it. I don't have any organized argument about it (and if I did it would probably be bullshit like most such arguments about aesthetic likes and dislikes are, however cleverly spun).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etn4P80K5WU

"don't delete the kisses" makes me feel like i can sprint to the ends of the earth and back

love how every time the chorus hits in "don't delete the kisses" the arrangement ups it a notch, making it gradually more powerful. It's a great song of tension and release

the don't delete kisses live version on 101.9 Kink turns the song into a slow burner, check that out if you haven't :)

holy shit
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNX7M9owRWQ

fuck this is such a classic band

Awesome! So excited about this album.

New album is great. It's definitely an evolution from their first

Apparently their U.S. distributor fucked up the vinyl pre-orders, in case you are a USian who did that. Can't wait to listen to this first thing in the morning on Spotify, in any case.

album of the month in Mojo which raised an eyebrow.

Maybe not so surprising. I haven't heard the whole album yet but to my ears "Beautifully Unconventional" sounds pretty classic rock, without even stretching the term.

yeah not surprised on Mojo nod - this is about as good as rock records get. The new one is less superficially heavy than the first album, but they've found new ways to incorporate barbed riffs into mellower songs and seemed to find more of a consistent middle ground between heavy/sublime here. This record flows great

I'm loving this on first listen. Nobody in the US seems to know who they are, but it's their loss. I'm glad to see they avoided the sophomore jinx.

album is sick, meldal-johnson killed it

Haven't had time to fully digest it but I love it. A couple of the songs are heavier than the heaviest moments on the last album, which I was not expecting at all but is a cool surprise.

Nobody in the US seems to know who they are

Well, you know, there's the language barrier.

Love their accents! Was thinking today it makes me like them more

this is SO GOOD

This album puts some solid gold up front but crucially the second half is so vital and heavy, lifting you back up. Really an ace lesson in how to structure a consistently good album

It never really hits a lull tbh

this is sounding very very good right now

i loooooooooooooove “space and time”

^ reminds me of Eno! "Needles in the Camel's Eye". Could mash well together on a playlist

I hate to say it but I'm once again ambivalent about the album as a whole. I still need to gives it some more listens. There best work is getting better, however. Planet Hunter is probably my favorite Wolf Alice song so far. I'd rather see them combining their modes, like that, rather than working very dreamy some of the time and very screamy the other part of the time. Not too thrilled with the mostly spoken sections either. Once again, Ellie is a solid enough vocalist that she should be singing rather than speech-singing, and preferably without a ton of effects.

Listening to Planet Hunter again and I find it hard to believe this song even exists as a new song in 2017. Instant classic.

Lol rudipherous when I heard this album I thought you're not gonna like at least 3 songs here (which feature the spoken sections)

preferably without a ton of effects.

My one criticism is that her voice gets buried in the reverb a lot more on this one.

I was looking forward to this album despite not really enjoying the first one, because you could see the potential was there for them to do something really great, and this sounded terrific on first listen.

It's an uneven record (the downside of going for variety, laudable as that is) - and yeah too much reverb - but "Beautifully Unconventional" and the last three songs are all fantastic.

Whose voice does she remind me of on Space + Time? I can't quite place it and it's driving me nuts.

Really burned out on this one by overplaying. Still love heavenwards, planet hunter, beautifully unconventional and don't delete the kisses. First one had a ton of bonus tracks which gave it a lot of playability

After helping Labour beat the odds in the election, it's great to see @WolfAliceMusic doing the same in the charts. https://t.co/H3sdVFpZVr

— Jeremy Corbyn (@jeremycorbyn) October 5, 2017

The Absolutely Right Boy

Thanks Jeremy! I did wonder...

Whose voice does she remind me of on Space + Time? I can't quite place it and it's driving me nuts.

― how's life, Monday, October 2, 2017 4:44 PM (six days ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

'Neko Case fronting Trompe le Monde-era Pixies' is the best I can come up with here.

Pros: The opening track is amazing, as is 'Don't Delete the Kisses' ...
Cons: This record has 'Beautifully Unconventional' on it, which is fucking awful.

thanks

Most of this record ranges from very good to amazing, though the production is wretched in places.

"beautifully unconventional" rules

'Sadboy' doesn't sound as great as it should, and 'After the Zero Hour' is a bit of a snoozer, but 'Heavenward', 'Yuk Foo', 'Don't Delete the Kisses', 'Planet Hunter', 'Space and Time' and the title track are all great.

I can see 'Formidable Cool' and 'St. Purple & Green' growing on me further - but aside from some shonky production here and there and one out-and-out stinker, it's a good record.

Sky musings is the only dud here

I love pretty much the whole album. It took me a while to get on board with some of the songs but after a few listens really began to enjoy them all - Sky Musings included, which feels like one of the songs off the last Grimes record to me. The only thing that's jarring to me is the chorus of Beautifully Unconventional. The verse and prechorus are both amazing and catchy, but the chorus I just don't get where they're coming from.

I forgot how amazing Planet Hunter is. They really deserve credit for amazing songs like this, even if the album is uneven. Lots of classic rock acts who recorded great songs seem pretty uneven to me on the album level. This songs takes me back to older feelings about life (having basically nothing to do with the lyrics).

band name had me thinking this was a metal act for a long time, just listened to Don't Delete the Kisses and what a jam, why did I not hear of this band before all the eoy lists

Honestly I don't think this album is uneven at all, with the exception of Space + Time which sounds like it had been stuck down the back of a Camden sofa since 1995.

better than the album version IMO, this is the one that reminds me of Throwing Muses the most i think

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6eohMq7ACI

even this is pretty decent

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h3jl6srja_8

That's a great version of Planet Hunter.

(yt made me click through and there's an extremely uncomfortable interview with Ellie on there, dang)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LwfFGk52VQs

Meant this one. She's very thoughtful and seems to fight her way through what seems more like a therapy session than an interview. Journalist is weird.

i think i've seen every live version of giant peach that's on youtube

Interviews from naybob radio stations asking 'why's the album called that?' type questions to hungover sunburned indie bands in cabins backstage at Europoean festivals seem to litter You Tube these days.

it's not an uneven album, it just feels like two very distinct directions that don't meet anywhere in the middle. I don't dislike "Yuk Foo" but when you've got something as incredible as "Don't Delete The Kisses" in your oeuvre I don't know why wouldn't follow further down that road.

'Yuk Foo' is just fine where it is - the 90s alt-rock records this reminds me of would roam all over the place. 'Siamese Dream' wouldn't work if it wasn't equal parts 'Quiet' and 'Mayonaise' and this feels like it's trying to capture the spirit of records like that, even if the lyrical approach is totally different. 'Don't Delete The Kisses' is amazing but other bands could offer you a whole album's worth of that, and probably will.

It's a great record but it's the abrupt turn into more florid territory from 'Sadboy' onwards that really makes it for me. It reminds me a bit of 'Ritual De Lo Habitual' in that regard, in which it seems content to play it at least vaguely straight for a long time and then throws everything it has at you.

i didn't really care for Yuk Foo as the lead single but it's definitely better in context

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I095rfA_UaU

Yeah, saw that. There's also a cover of Tim Buckley's Song to the Siren up on spotify. They're both ok, I guess. I'm not a huge fan of covers that are just half the band in a radio station studio or whatever. Esp with Song to the Siren, I was hoping to hear what kind of an effects-laden treatment they might give it.

Also your comment about terrible youtube festival interviews is otm.

^^ yes.

"Planet Hunter" is nice but sounds nothing like Throwing Muses, wtf

Katherine and piecesx, I thought about this conversation while listening to the Melkbelly record. Have you guys checked them out? Their singer sounds like Kristin Hersh (50 Foot Wave-era) to me. Others on the thread are pointing more towards Kim/Kelly Deal, but when you add in the melodies, I think a Hersh comparison is undeniable.

Melkbelly - Nothing Valley

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=486sTKx9nK4

really nailed it

Sadboy was the track it took me the longest to like from the new one, but after about 5 listens I glommed on. When I saw them last week, it felt like the drummer started it off at the wrong tempo: way too slow. About halfway through the song, when the downtuned vocals and sing-along come in, it all came together and hit hard. That beginning part must be a little tricky to get the vibe right. Only song they played where I felt taken out of it. Everything else was killer.

Don't Delete the Kisses is getting a Charli XCX remix, due out tomorrow 5 pm GMT on Beats1

oh awesome!

very nice, it always reminded me of "You're the One" or "Stay Away"

sneak peak

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hn21chZFg_g

Just listened to the studio version of the Charli XCX mix because I've been on an XCX kick after the year end polls. The live cover felt desultory and for some reason I just figured that the studio version would be more of the same, but I ended up liking it a lot. A nice companion piece to the original.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bg1ocz7TUL4

!

heh my old group supported these once at our tiny social club in north east england. they wanted to drag us on tour across uk. its funny how big theyve gotten. i called the singer out at the time on stealing her steez from annie hardy of giant drag -- she conceded.

Which giant drag material is worth seeking out?

The earlier, the better.

first Giant Drag album is essential

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6sRAzBWCnfM

not a massive song, but I like it

Yeah, reminded me of the party scene Jacobs Ladder.

Don't Delete The Kisses is getting a remix ep for Record Store Day in the UK.

http://songexploder.net/wolf-alice

Don't have the chance to listen yet, but Song Exploder just did an ep on Don't Delete the Kisses.

good one, thanks

such a great song

Just relistened to my love is cool and it blows the new one out of the water. The highs on the latest are indeed wonderful but there’s a consistency lacking in style, the first record juggles sweet, heavy and jagged so much better while the new one feels like a greatest hits of their styles with some new (don’t delete the kisses) directions thrown in

I think they're both very good albums. They're at a stage now where either their best work is still ahead of them or they've already shot their bolt. Given what they're capable of at their best, I'm hoping its the former. It'll probably be the latter, though.

They're at a stage now where either their best work is still ahead of them or they've already shot their bolt.

well that covers all the bases

These days, particularly in the type of music Wolf Alice specialise in, I think you can tell by the third or fourth album whether or not a band have shot their bolt or are realising their potential.

their lollapalooza set was some next level shit

well that covers all the bases

I predict that all future Wolf Alice albums will be exactly as good as this last one, no more, no less.

Nah, their next album will make it apparent whether they've got a long career ahead of them or whether they've said all they need to say.

Dunno man. Chvrches have said all they need to say but they’re still churning out serviceable albums. Matt DC otm

Hmm. Not sure that I agree with that - my takeaway from the (excellent) album Chvrches released this year is that there's more and better to come.

I love it too fwiw

A nice antidote to all the hoo-ha about the Reading and Leeds line up being rubbish, last night on the BBC; an hour of Wolf Alice headlining the Radio 1 stage. Storming gig, band on fire, all the hits, fancy lights, disco balls, glitter, the whole bit. At one point they got 2 girls up and one proposed to the other to raucous cheers and applause, then they went into Don't Delete The Kisses. If i was 18 watching that i'm sure i'd have fuckin loved it.

I'll have to ask Alice about it, they are down there this weekend

Some friends' 16-year old son is at Leeds. I suggested Wolf Alice, but he said it clashed with The Wombats. Tsk, kids.

Yeah, they were deciding between the Kooks on stage, and the Wombats in the signing tent.

I'm sure Wolf Alice was a green marker event though.

The Winterbottom film is great! I can't believe it isn't better known about. It's streaming on Amazon Prime btw if any of y'all have that.

nice one chaps!

Genuinely surprised!

People will say they were 'due for an Indie one' this year but hey. Ellie Rowsell herself was on the panel a coupla years back 'interestngly'.

Joff has released an album of John Fahey covers to benefit a food bank charity.

https://theface.com/music/wolf-alice-folk-music-joff-oddie-food-bank-fundraiser-trussell-trust

ooh yeah, nice link thanks.

Their website is teasing something new.

Ooh.

I know we've talked about the price of rarities on Ebay but this takes the piss a bit

https://www.ebay.com/itm/WOLF-ALICE-Blush-EP-new-sealed-UK-2013-Chess-Club-10-vinyl-single-NEW/164211912609?hash=item263bcaefa1:g:0OYAAOSwB~ZexgNi

New song premiers tomorrow on Annie Mac during the britishes 18 pm hour (1 pm Eastern Standard Time). Video will be available on youtube the hour after that:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzH6toY_EPw

When they first uploaded the video, there was a link to pre-order 'Blue Weekend' which was quickly taken down. Googling 'Blue Weekend' led me to some people in the film world who had already updated their resumes to include their work on the videos, including this tidbit:

2020 1st AD
Music Video Wolf Alice / Blue Weekend album (11 x music videos) Academy Films

Pretty excited!

it's up! it's...a weird single choice but still pretty great! is this JM-J on the boards again?

oh my god that song is fucking amazing

that is the best goddamn song they've ever made

i literally can't remember the last time i listened to a song six times in a row. sometimes when there's a really good 1975 single i guess

I agree with Simon that it seems like a weird 1st single choice, but my impression is that they're giving us a taste of what the album will be like. It's very much a home stretch, end-of-side-b kind of song, and it could easily be a final track, but we know from the track listing that it's the third from the end, so my speculation is that the final two songs will be a real tour-de-force. I dunno, that's just me talking out of my ass.

Don't agree with Brad that it's the best goddamn song they've ever made, but it is definitely a goddamn good song. I listened to it like 6 times in a row too! My thought on that was that it felt unnaturally short to me, if that makes sense? Like, it runs 4:30, which is pretty decent length by pop songs standards, but I felt like I was only in it for 3 minutes or so, and so I kept going back to listen again.

Anyway, I'm stoked. Really happy that they're still together making music. Can't believe that it's almost 4 years since Visions of a Life.

just remembered that the previous lead single was "yuk foo" so I wouldn't infer too much about the sound of the album yet lmao

this is fine but i'm not really feeling it as much as you all seem to be

it's up! it's...a weird single choice but still pretty great! is this JM-J on the boards again?

― stimmy stimmy yah (Simon H.), Wednesday, February 24, 2021 5:27 PM (two hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

Simon, I was just listening to the Annie Mac interview from earlier today and Ellie mentions the producer, but I can't quite hear the last name. Marcus J-something? A little after 13 minutes here:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m000shvj

Also, check out who did the strings.

omfg, king

love the end
mitski style in a good way

Paulina S
5 hours ago
Wolf Alice be like “yeah this’ll make them wanna kill themselves.... release it”

Markus Dravs

i don't think even rick ruin could mess up a wolf alice album now they're too good

lol rick ruin

Yeah, I hate this.

Markus Dravs

― peace, man, Wednesday, February 24, 2021 6:03 PM (yesterday) bookmarkflaglink

one of my favorite producers who is not jmj so phew yay awesome. also no wonder owen's on it

The only thing I really know that he's worked on is Homogenic. I guess now is the time I finally listen to Arcade Fire. Anything else in particular you would recommend?

i am very alone on this board in thinking the florence album he did (how big how blue how beautiful) is her best

also viva la vida is... great... lol

Ok, I will give those a shot. Right now I'm listening to the James album he worked on.

Dravs's first big notable gig was doing the sound design for Derek Jarman's "Blue" (credited to Markus Draws I think). He became Eno's right-hand-man for a while, doing more-than-half the work on James's "Wah Wah", which was the album that inspired AF to hire him for Neon Bible onward. Coldplay had a "we love AF" moment and picked Dravs/Eno to do Viva La Vida, then Dravs was subsequently drafted by Mumford & Sons and Florence; Dravs won a Grammy for the former, iirc. Maybe another one, too, same band or something else. He has another arranger above me on his rolodex (the guy from Goldfrapp, who did Viva La Vida etc.) but we have great personal rapport and I love working with him, I think he's an amazing producer tbh.

Oh yeah, and Dravs did most of Homogenic, and much of Vespertine iirc

damn that is one hell of a CV

I seem to remember him telling me that the mid-00s Merz albums he produced were his own favourites of the work he's done, I haven't listened but I should

Anyway Wolf Alice rules

Thanks, fgti!

“It’s about the arrogance of humans,” said Rowsell, explaining the lyrics. “I’d just read Kurt Vonnegut’s Cat’s Cradle and I had written the line ‘Peculiar travel suggestions are dancing lessons from god’ in my notes. But then I thought: ‘Uh, your peculiar travel suggestion isn’t a dancing lesson from god, it’s just a travel suggestion! Why does everything need to mean something more?’”

i don't mean to start stanning for this band but this is exactly what i'd write a song about

oh i never realised dravs worked on homogenic - he seems to be credited with engineering & programming, not production, so that's why i'd never noticed

mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson) at 9:14 25 Feb 21

i am very alone on this board in thinking the florence album he did (how big how blue how beautiful) is her best

not alone!

The performance on Jools Holland was pretty astounding.

Don't agree with Brad that it's the best goddamn song they've ever made,

Good article in the NME this morning. They give some hints about the styles of some of the songs and a few lyrical quotes.

https://www.nme.com/big-reads/wolf-alice-cover-interview-2021-blue-weekend-2898441

The new song Smile is great, imo.

love the drummer in this band

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NV39h7GHDYs

oh this one rules

Lovely (although beset by streaming difficulties) little acoustic set:

https://www.instagram.com/tv/CN-sAmSIVDB/?igshid=1usncoqx41sod

Release date moved from June 11th to June 4th!

Apparently they're on Zane Lowe right now if anyone subscribes to Apple whatever. New song coming in 30 minutes for the rest of us.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WoBzpdm_h0c

holy shit tbh

got partway through that lovely song and decided I'm waiting for the LP before I hear any more. fuckin stoked.

Yeah, i like it. First of the three i've really liked tbh.

xp: I might have to go that route if they release any more advance songs. All the tracks they've released so far have hit my sweet spot where I can just play them endlessly on repeat. I want to save something for when the album comes out.

gorgeous

This is my favourite of the three so far I think.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gEBVbHJpZo

really wanna see this band live

I'm surprised by the mixed reception for "last man on earth", it stops me in my tracks every time

rt

the first few tracks on this are really cool & cinematic

great album, they really love their dramatic sweeping crescendos now

"lipstick on the glass" is so good

Has it leaked? Y’all got promos?

I was a bit meh about the tracks I’ve heard so far but that wee audience-less Worthy Farm show last weekend was fantastic. I mean they’ve seemed like Glastonbury Pyramid Stage headline material since the first album so fair dos, I hope they get to headline a night at next year’s.

it's out tomorrow! afaict in some countries it is already tomorrow

Hoping this shows up at some local shops, $20 for the CD on Amazon and I can't find a bandcamp page for them.

Well shit, we got 2021 US tour!

America baby! It’s been so long since we’ve been gone, but hope is on the horizon, we’re coming back. Grab tix and come join the party, we’ve missed you 🇺🇸.
Tickets on sale Friday 10AM local time - https://t.co/d9Dv2Ny5gB pic.twitter.com/cUGu2VPOsR

— Wolf Alice (@wolfalicemusic) June 3, 2021

uhhhhhh yeahh aoty

oh yeah this is really fucking good

only halfway through but this already feels like the most cohesive/considered rock record I've heard since the empty country album

"lipstick on the glass"... i apparently love to compare rock bands to radiohead this year but that's some moon shaped pool-esque mastery of dynamics. album is really well-paced too, which is where i felt visions of a life got a little lost

literally cannot imagine how this album could sound better

"how can i make it ok?" my favorite song of all time

yeah this seems like pretty obviously their best album, filler-free and fully realized

and when your friends are talking
you hardly hear a word
you were the first person here
and the last man on the earth

"last man on the earth" right into "no hard feelings" might be the most emotionally devastating thing that ever happened to me lol

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iEfxTD13eLM

That song has a very Fleetwood Mac sound to it. Love it.

I immediately thought of the Mac as well

presale code for the tour is BlueWeekend21. Got myself tickets to 1st night in DC.

Can't believe no-one's mentioned Abba; Feeling Myself sounds like Eagle! Touches of Haim's last album in there too.

This is miles better than the last album. Those first three tracks are something else. Phew well that's a relief.

the only track i'm not completely sold on is "play the greatest hits", the verse is just a little grating

agree that it's very clearly their best album

"how can i make it ok" is really wonderful but should have had like a acoustic guitar solo or something to complete the balearic feel

"safe from heartbreak" is one of the best "short mid-album breather ballads" I've ever heard, and a LOT of bands have tried it

One of those Listening Party affairs is happening at 6pm uk time;

We'll be joining @Tim_Burgess for a @LlSTENlNG_PARTY at 6PM BST today. Grab a blue bev and start your weekend with us xxx #TimsTwitterListeningParty #BlueWeekend
Artwork by @RNRReceipts pic.twitter.com/uY45ZpI6gC

— Wolf Alice (@wolfalicemusic) June 4, 2021

That stretch from "Safe from Heartbreak" to "Play the Greatest Hits" had my head spinning.

my only real complaint is the "Beach" bookends are a little on the slight side, but that's really just "I want more" which is the best type of complaint to have

it was cool that the pre-release tracks didn't really reveal what the album was going for much, like only "the last man on earth" hinted at it, and even though i enjoy it a lot more in the context of the album it feels a bit more obvious than the rest in its big dramatic build etc.

"beach ii" is one of the best songs on the album, swan dive into shoegaze

this album feels 15 minutes long (this is a compliment)

i have said it before but the drummer in this band is a beast

And his background vocals on Safe From Heartbreak are very welcome indeed.

i really want them to next make an album that takes this one's sound and lets all the songs sprawl for 10 minutes each. give me some epics

Yeah, I would have loved an epic a la the Visions of a Life title track. Like to hear them play around with these textures more. I'd be up for that.

From a track-listing perspective though, Delicious Things into Lipstick on the Glass is pretty substantial chunk of album there (and right at the beginning too!).

oh yeah those first three tracks together are incredible

ok i even love "play the greatest hits" now though it's not quite as good at the sort of thing it does as "yuk foo"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j5VG2XWUEbA

this album is the midpoint between siamese dream and aerial

anyone getting Susanne Sundfør vibes on "How Can I Make It OK"?

Definitely. And I’m so impressed by the vocals across every track; hooks all over the place.

Last album didn’t do much for me besides Don’t Delete The Kisses, but I’m blown away by this.

oh yeah i hear that alfred

The best Lykke li record that she never made

oh man

this album feels 15 minutes long (this is a compliment)

― intern at pelican brief consulting (Simon H.), Friday, June 4, 2021 9:20 AM (three days ago) bookmarkflaglink

otm, it's inexhaustible

it's like they figured out each previous album felt just the slightest bit padded out and surgically removed the excess this time

there are gonna be at least a few contenders for "best-sounding rock record" this year but this one has the edge so far

love the intensely bratty vocal on "play the greatest hits"

https://www.metacritic.com/browse/albums/score/metascore/all/filtered?sort=desc

Struggling to recall the last time I saw such a positive reaction across the board for a British album.

it seems like it's mostly just uk outlets that have reviewed it so far and i'm sure they're rightfully delighted that a big uk rock band has made something this good. like are there any other uk bands out there making Big Rock Albums that good these days, just the 1975 i think? who are great but way more polarising of course

p4k is already not going to be onboard though, expecting a 7.5 or something in the coming days

i predict they tank the score for fun

j/k

It'd be nice to see this get BNM but I reckon it'll bubble just below

it wasn't on their 'albums to listen to week roundup' so pretty much no chance of BNM

not even the (really great) japanese breakfast album, which seemed like about as BNM-bait as an album could be could manage BNM this week though lol

just realized "safe from heartbreak" could pass for a roches number

Maybe they don’t review it at all.

safe from heartbreak is gorgeous

wonderful record

really want to see it live in a wild crowd

h8 2 austin but who gives a flying fuck abt pfork's response to this album. will check it out later

ellie really levelled up on this one imo...at various points on this record I get little hits of sundfor, fiona apple ("I'm no longer cashing tills, yeah") and liz fraser, but she's also get a presence all her own. the occasional male backing vox are a lovely touch as well

okay, this album rules

rt

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KX_QelwuC8I

this is the best song

great video too

Brad, do you hear "Love to Love You Baby" in the hi-hat and vocals?

Damn, astute observation Alfred! It's one of my favorite songs from the album.

I'm still really loving this record and Wolf Alice is one of my favorite bands from the last decade. One thing I'll say is that the lyrics seem like they've taken a different turn? Ellie seems to be in a more straightforward writing phase, whereas when I listen back to stuff from My Love Is Cool, her lyrics seemed to have a more poetic bent. I don't think this is to the detriment of the songs in any way. The exception being Feeling Myself, which I love musically, but feels way too on-the-nose for me. I think she had mentioned in one of their recent interviews how after the Visions of a Life tour, she had trouble starting to write again.

idk, I love Blue Weekend a lot and am still listening to it regularly, but just wanted to see if anyone else felt that way about it.

definitely more direct and diaristic than I recall from the other albums

Ok cool. Good to hear that from someone else. Again, I don't mean it as a slight. Visions of a Life had a song that it took me a long time to come around to (Beautifully Unconventional). I think Feeling Myself might be that for this album.

ok, so, "safe from heartbreak"...holy shit

You want a cover of Steely Dan’s ‘Dirty Work’??
(59 minutes in)

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m000x0gm

No?

nice cover imo

Bit of a catty review in Pitchfork. They always seem to have a problem with bands that are bigged up in the UK press.

Really good this, last month's Worthy Farm mini-gig

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p09l0c6y/glastonbury-wolf-alice-2021

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhWAx67iGyc

it isn't LOUD ENOUGH

A whole dvd of these videos will surely go on to a ‘Deluxe’ edition of Blue Weekend just in time for Christmas.

listened to this on a whim after finding everything else they've done very boring and I kind of like this one. She really sounds like Elizabeth Fraser on a few tracks.

I've never heard anything to convince me this band isn't deathly dull.

I spoke to your mom about it though

First gig back tonight, in the coastal town of Bournemouth, their first proper gig since the end of 2018. Seems they did most of the new album, and at some point a cover of I'm Waiting For The Man

https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/wolf-alice/2021/o2-academy-bournemouth-bournemouth-england-138fcd59.html

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/E67pynHX0Aca_ql?format=jpg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2g7FnQGF-pE

that is very well done

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2e2aPTQIGgY

demo of a track that didn't make the album, quite nice

That's a pretty one! I hadn't thought about it since it came out, but worth coming back to.

In other news, this version of Delicious Things with an orchestra at Abbey Road came out yesterday and it sounds amazing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fj2uPKoPsYI

It looks like they're coming back to America in March. Check your local listings.

Today we release a new lullaby version of The Last Man On Earth featuring @LCVchoir.
It’s the first song from a collection called Blue Lullaby which will be released as an EP on June 24th.
Listen now: https://t.co/8YY8xe0TAL
Pre-save the EP: https://t.co/UPJCS4JxjI pic.twitter.com/a3yrq542Qu

— Wolf Alice (@wolfalicemusic) May 5, 2022

???

Yeah, just listened to the new version of Last Man on Earth. For the record, I am not tiring of all the new versions of Last Man on Earth. The changes in the arrangement are always subtle, but I still get into it.

It sounds like the rest of the EP will also be stripped-back versions of album cuts.

No word yet on a physical release, so I'm guessing this will just be a digital thing.

Blue Lullaby EP out today (whilst band frantically tries to find a plane to Glastonbury)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwuXP1yQ2iY

Killed it on the Pyramid stage; that was about as good as it could possibly have been. Felt like an audition to headline. I hope they don’t disappear too long to write/record album 4.

The Lullaby "Lipstick on the Glass" is GORGEOUS. Wow.

Feels like it's jumped up a notch this summer; all the will-they-won't-they stuff pre-Glastonbury on Friday, supporting Harry Styles on *seventeen* arena dates, etc etc.

New stage set up looks fabulous

i love wolf alice pic.twitter.com/zGTuOdhQc1

— ares SAW HARRY (@2kittz) June 29, 2022

Ellie's doing vocals on a new song by Thy Slaughter, which is an A.G. Cook thing. My first impression is that it's not that distinct, as far as A.G. Cook things go.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Jed1xlM5qI

Creature Songs EP is being re-released on 10"

https://store.wolfalice.co.uk/products/creature-songs-ep-10th-anniversary-vinyl

They're on the Glastonbury line-up this year. Hopefully this portends new music.

Listened to Blue Weekend last week for the first time in a while and was thinking surely they should have some new music out soon so fingers crossed

The band have shared a new website (password: BLOOM) and a very chill spotify playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1vDcWjAX34jGx7VAmNgPzP?si=QZfBUxM7T1qZ1fRZlYKPIQ

New video premiers on YouTube in about 12 minutes.

you can dance to this one

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBGcloF8LIY

I'm so happy they're back.

A great racket but i'm not sure it's got much of a song underneath. Also the big label, big producer thing is giving me the fear a bit, but after Blue Weekend as long as there are one or two good songs on there i'm happy.
Very glad they're back though yes, truly.

the New Wolf Alice track sounds remarkably like Norwegian pop band Highasakite

same big sound production techniques, same rhythmic drum flow

Highasakite - Golden Ticket

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2NopIx3sTg

released May 2016

this is just fine but that's what i thought about the lead single from the last one which turned out to be the best album ever

I love this band but bloom baby bloom sounded kinda mid at first listening

c'mon it sounds landfill indie

They're playing arenas on the next tour.

Awesome for them! My jaw dropped at your post. Sadly, after going to check, realized that's only on one side of the Atlantic. I might try to see them at the 9:30 Club, though.

I think this band is pretty inconsistent on record, like, some of the songs are just utterly amazing and phenomenal and then some of them are just crap. this is alright but I could see them tilt toward their crap side and become huge.

Second (!) London arena gig announced. I guess a combination of the Harry Styles tour, a fantastic last album and a major label has helped to push them out of the mid-level uh level.

https://d3ry4o1su9a59w.cloudfront.net/public/5afa8d3ed9e8404b190001d7/61bb04304026c2002171a1e1/682dcc081504e8000bef6ea1/1/432-0001.jpg

Don't Delete The Kisses is constantly in the Youtube recommendations of everyone I know as well, regardless of what else they're listening to or watching.

My only gripe with that is I wish Delicious Things was the default 'absolute classis masterpiece' that was being shoved under people's noses.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0X5BFCwcB8

this is great, chamber-pop-y, reminds me of the last arctic monkeys album

!!

My daughter has a band called "Watching Alice"

I did wonder if that was a wise name for her band, they're not a million miles away, style wise, but they're doing alright

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXOgzXmd5Zo

the other video isn't working so here's "the sofa" again, it's just like the best stuff on the last album so i love it

great song, i love songs about doing nothing (like sitting on the dock of the bay)

video makes me want to be back in england

new track dropped today, White Horses - a more guitar oriented track.

starts of as a Wire type of track with Joel, then Ellie doing the Kate Pierson B52s vibes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKVOPB7e5N8

krauty and pastoral, i like it

album seems like it's going to be wonderful

is this the first time any of the others have briefly taken on lead vocals?

Joel sang Swallowtail on the debut

Loving this one : otm about the krauty vibe… and Kate Pierson’s !

really beautiful album

new album's great, maybe not as good as blue weekend but still very strong

This band should be in my wheelhouse but I only know a few songs. Going to have to check this record out.

Just popping in here because I really love the new album. I was worried I wouldn't; the rollout of singles kept catching me off-guard. At first I was excited because the sunflower emojis playlist they shared on Spotify was full of mellow 60s/70s moods. But then Bloom Baby Bloom came along and was not like any of that, or anything I had heard from Wolf Alice before either! Then they dropped The Sofa, which I didn't like at all, and really killed the mood for me. I totally missed the White Horses drop because I was depressed and miserable that week and couldn't even bring myself to listen to it.

Overall, the album is, in fact, very groovy like the sunflower playlist. I think it's perfectly suited for late summer/early fall. I'm still not big on The Sofa, or opening ballad Thorns. White Horses is unusual, but has great moments - I'm still getting used to that one.

Everything else kicks my ass, hard! My favorites have changed with each listen, but this time around:

Just Two Girls: Ellie's commitment to writing songs about female friendship rules.
Passenger Seat: Can't pin down the antecedents right off the bat. Feels like an 80s/90s adult alternative cod-country thing? Is that fair? Anyway, they nail it.
Midnight Song: I LOVE After the Zero Hour from VOAL, and this song dips back into the same well - all I could ask for!

Some people are missing the grungy vibes of their earlier work. I know that's what initially drew me to them. But I think they do a great job expanding the definition of Wolf Alice while still somehow sounding like Wolf Alice.

i’ve recently discovered that white horses is the best song ever made

Awesome! I'm definitely down with Ellie's B-52s prechorus contributions, and the chorus is pretty good. I'm trying to find my way in to the verses. They didn't land immediately for me and I just haven't quite gotten ahold of them yet.

Swallowtail was one of the songs it took me the longest to get on their debut, and I love that one now, so I'm sure I'll come around to it. Joel just throws curveballs, I guess.

this album sucks so much
"White Horses" is redeemable (maybe even great)
but Wolf Alice were until recently my favourite contemporary indie-rock band :(

???? my goodness

i think they expanded beyond their original boundaries quite capably. i don't like this as much as blue weekend but blue weekend has that whole nighttime narcotic half-asleep kissing a stranger mood. the songcraft here is just relentlessly lovely and bright. "just two girls" is SO gorgeous

the really hostile reactions from former fans kinda baffle me. i guess i do love a curveball

this album is just a clear move towards a certain set of influences/vibe that i just find utterly dull, and the results seem uncompelling

i liked them as a spiky unpredictable post-punk band; i find them so inexpert in this Last Shadow Puppets kinda mode

did you hate blue weekend too?

I think this album is really dull. It might grow on me but for now I'm counting it as a disappointment; huge downturn from Blue Weekend

Is anyone else hearing Last Dinner Party in this new album?

I really love « white horses » and like « the sofa » but I have to say the rest of the album doesn’t really grab me after a few plays.

Mine arrived yesterday. It's stuffed with flowers and bracken...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3LlvZRCS6OE

as with all songs about female friendship, i listen to it and think "that's so gay...."

It's about 'er from Confidence Man supposedly.

Ellie Rowsell and Janet Planet at Glastonbury 2025 pic.twitter.com/8uiSCQYP5k

— gherkin rowsell (@gherkinrowsell) July 2, 2025

….. that’s so gay…..

also listening to this album this morning and thinking about how rich and varied the arrangements are and how sharp the songwriting is!!! and also that this shift toward the baroque was really thoroughly telegraphed by “the last man on earth”

“play it out” wrestles with a number of things i’ve been facing lately. really glad i have it in my life now

this album is great, f the haters

there's been a cd of this sitting on a cart at my station for a few days, i think it fell out of a package :(

Number One