![]() ![]() The band demonstrates an unnerving tic on the song, too-coming to a complete halt for a beat at various unexpected points, leaving a listener in a terrifying place, alone with her thoughts. Rowsell’s voice builds over quarrelling guitars, and all is redeemed. On the following track, “Your Loves Whore,” Rowsell and company set things straight, with a cascading wall of sound that crushes everything that came before it. Only Rowsell’s lyrics, “Keep your beady eyes on me / to make sure I don’t turn to dust,” suggest that some brutal thing is coming. ![]() The sound suggests fog rolling over a green field. During the first song, “Turn to Dust,” she coos over a sparse backing of light drumming and gauzy guitar work. On “My Love is Cool,” Rowsell opens with her gentler side. She can whisper like a child and howl like a rabid animal. That would be a good way to describe Rowsell’s vocal style. The story, a variation on “Little Red Riding Hood” and “Through the Looking-Glass,” is about a feral girl who is raised by wolves. The band takes its name from “Wolf-Alice,” a late-seventies short story by Angela Carter. The pair had been playing folk music together for a couple of years when they decided to bring in a rhythm section, Amey and the bassist Theo Ellis. The band’s ascension was fuelled by a key decision, two years ago, by its founders, the singer Ellie Rowsell and the guitarist Joff Oddie. Since its start, Wolf Alice has gone from serenading empty clubs in London to gracing the legendary John Peel Stage of the Glastonbury Festival. Joel Amey, who is its drummer, has been in bands since he was in his early teens, and all the bandmates played music before getting together. Wolf Alice succeeds with a shifting approach because the group is far from shiftless. Just in the same way that a harmless Web search for a restaurant address can result in time spent brushing up on the history and development of, say, badminton (ask yourself, just how did you end up on this page?), “My Love is Cool” is a dizzying descent into the unpredictable nature of today’s music. Their début album, “My Love is Cool,” which comes out today, matches our Internet moment. The more recent “Moaning Lisa Smile” is all thundering shoegaze guitar. “White Leather,” from a year later, finds them lounging in the late-night atmospheric sounds of the xx. An early track, “Leaving You,” from 2012, starts with warm harmonies that are pure folk before twangy guitars rain a southern-rock storm on the country picnic. They play around with genres, sometimes within a single song. The English four-piece band Wolf Alice, during its brief existence, hasn’t felt the need to stick to any one sound. PHOTOGRAPH BY BURAK CINGI / REDFERNS VIA GETTY The latest single feels like it will be embraced whole heartedly when it's eventually played live, it's an anthem just waiting to get the mosh-pit moving.Ellie Rowsell, the band’s lead singer, can whisper like a child and howl like a rabid animal. The wait may have been drawn out but it looks like it has been more than worth it. 'Smile' is another great introduction to the new Wolf Alice album and sets the bar very high. ![]() "If you want me you can find me at the bar, Lost souls congregate at the bar, Take a minute and remember who you are, Sip your drink, sip one more and you’re a star" Ellie sings. The song mixes the incendiary with the melodic in equal measure as the light and dark elements play out. The shredded guitars and pulsating percussion provide a great platform from which Ellie Rowsell can add her distinctive vocal. On band's latest track, 'Smile', there is a return to the more raucous and explosive version of Wolf Alice. At points Ellie's vocal is almost whispered as she delivers her lyrics over a Beatles flavoured soundtrack. 'The Last Man On Earth' was a softer and mellower return from critically acclaimed Indie band. The band's first single of the year, and first single since they collaborated on the creative 'Teenage Headache Dreams' with Mura Masa, certainly showcased the vulnerability that Wolf Alice are capable of. 'Blue Weekend', according to the press statement, "sees Wolf Alice embrace a newfound boldness and vulnerability in equal measure." It's been more than three years since Wolf Alice released their last, Mercury Prize, winning album, 'Visions Of A Life', and it will be six years after their stunning debut album, 'My Love Is Cool'. With a third album, 'Blue Weekend', due out on June 11th through Dirty Hit Records, the 'Fluffy' band are once again feeding the frenzied desire of their adoring fans. Wolf Alice fuel the fire for a second time in two months with the release of their latest single this year, 'Smile'. ![]()
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