It’s a Thursday night buzzing with anticipation in Columbus, Ohio. I hop off the bus and into America’s longest continually running rock club: Newport Music Hall. I find myself amid a full crowd of tattoos, leather, piercings and dyed hair. The group is lively and polite and represents just about every demographic imaginable. Opener Willy Mason had just wrapped up his set, setting a patient tone for the audience as they waited for the next act from across the pond to take the stage.
Wolf Alice — the four-piece powerhouse hailing from the U.K. — has gone through many different shapes and transformations throughout the years. Crafting folk-indie and dreamy electric pop-rock, the band has amassed a solid and diverse following across scenes. Their fourth full-length album, The Clearing, however, steers further from their rockier roots toward something more direct and glam. There is a clear ‘70s-infused pop sound on their new record, and tonight’s venue production seems to replicate this intentionally — a giant silver disco ball hangs from the ornate ceiling just above the pit. This hanging object acts as a symbol of what’s to be expected from the upcoming performance.
Not long after finding my place in the crowd, there’s a flash and a drone, a few murmurs and some whoops, and the band takes the stage. There’s Ellie Rowsell, dressed in a white skirt and leggings, Theo Ellis with slicked hair and a smirk, Joel Amey sitting up high on drums, John Victor (Genghar) filling in as guitarist for Joff Oddie and keyboardist Ryan Malcolm setting the tone for the night.
“Thorns,” a slow-burning, melodic piano ballad, opens the set with a classy, almost burlesque dramatism. Rowsell never fails to capture an audience. Her mournful, glassy vocals cut through with intention. The ‘70s theme here shines through with straightforward instrumentation and a moody pop sensibility. Amey and Malcolm are postured higher up on stage, as if the rest of the band performed in a conversation pit below. The band closes the song with little room for the enamored crowd to applaud and immediately goes into the remainder of their set.
The set included “How Can I Make It Ok?,” a dreamy pop-rock song with soaring vocals from Rowsell and “Just Two Girls,” a lyrically fun and self-conscious song that exemplifies the pop influences running through the band’s bloodstream. There’s also Roswell’s punchy lyrics, outlining both an obsessive and intimidating relationship with another woman.
A personal favorite of mine, “White Horses,” cuts through the night with urgency. Victor proves his chops alongside Wolf Alice as he slashes through the signature riff, at times resembling a Jonny Greenwood doppelgänger.
The band smoothly cycles through each song with precision and cleanliness. There are sonic highs, boisterous drums and glittering synths, and then there are slower moments. An acoustic singalong. Another slow ballad. While the band does signal out to the crowd at times, Wolf Alice seems to prefer to take an air of mystery and separation from the audience. There was the feeling that up there on stage, you couldn’t touch them.
Despite this, the final moment in the night’s performance brings everyone home with “Don’t Delete the Kisses.” While being a popular song from the band’s earlier catalogue (definitely one that shows on Spotify recommendations and coffee shops), it takes on a new air of significance after The Clearing. The synths build and slow with Rowsell’s ethereal vocals, as we’re sent home with a swirling disco ball sending cascading beams of light and purple hearts. The show’s over, and Wolf Alice promptly leaves the stage. While I arrived as a Wolf Alice listener, I left as a fan. The Clearing shows the band maturing into another distinct era, and while some veteran fans might be dissuaded by the cleaner ‘70s twist and production, the band is clearly cementing itself as one of the strongest live acts touring today. Yes, their new sound may be softening, but that does not mean that they aren’t just as loud and rockin’ on stage. Wolf Alice still has this air as the cool, edgier kids from across the pond, but they seem to be opening their arms just a bit wider for us to lean in and dance with them.