FOR FANS OF: Black Honey, Flyleaf, Pale Waves
Every so often a band comes along where you are confronted with the anxiety of “How could they possibly top this?” with each album release. Being born in the late 1990s, it is rare that I have been alive to personally experience this, which is why I feel extremely privileged to have existed in the same time as London-based indie darlings Wolf Alice. Now, with the release of their third and arguably most fully realized and cohesive album Blue Weekend, I have found myself in this very position.
Blue Weekend takes the listener on a journey, “The Beach’s” gentle guitars and soft vocals build to soaring harmonies, setting up the equilibrium which ultimately, 40 mins later is concluded in “The Beach II”, a shoegaze inspired gem; an emotive instrumental with introspective and hopeful lyrics such as “the sun goes down, as it must come up,” and ending, quite literally with a “happy ever after.” It is a stark contrast between the anxiety and uncertainty of the opening track, which begins with the opening lines of one of Shakespeare’s most famous tragedies, Macbeth. Between these songs however, before we are provided with our happy ending, we are privileged enough to be taken through some of the band’s most mature and masterful work to date.
Stand-out tracks include; rage-fueled, Britpop-esque anthem “Smile” where Ellie (vocals/guitar) declares “I am what I am and I’m good at it / And if you don’t like me well that isn’t fucking relevant” over a thundering, catchy riff, bass and harmony heavy “Delicious Things,” and fuzzy, punk inspired bop “Play The Greatest Hits.” Ellie’s haunting vocals and vivid storytelling teamed with an impressive rhythm section and masterful guitars have made for an genius album with no skips.
Over the course of their ten year career, Wolf Alice have proved themselves again and again, with each album topping the last. Their material spans across genres, but always manages to sound like themselves, which is to me, the most impressive part about them.
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