With its 2015 debut full-length, My Love is Cool, London’s Wolf Alice accomplished a fairly nifty trick by exhibiting the distinctive traits of any number of genres while somehow managing to transcend them all in the creation of a unique sonic identity. The quartet easily blends the scorchingly fuzzy Shoegaze of Ride, the beautifully nuanced British Folk of Renaissance, the darkly lilting Gothic New Wave of Cocteau Twins and a Beatlesque sense of Pop melodicism into an ethereal and engaging whole that revels in classicism and bristles with contemporary energy.
Wolf Alice began five years ago as the acoustic duo of vocalist/guitarist Ellie Rowsell and guitarist/vocalist Jeff Oddie; they named themselves after a character in a short story by Angela Carter, the noted feminist author renowned for her re-imaginings of classic fairy tales. When the pair introduced an electric component, they enlisted friends Sadie Cleary (bass) and George Bartlett (drums) and recorded a three-song EP.
In 2012, Cleary returned to school and Bartlett broke his wrist; Theo Ellis and Joel Amey were brought in as respective replacements. The first song recorded by Wolf Alice’s new lineup, “Leaving You,” garnered airplay on BBC Radio 1 and was quickly followed in 2013 by the band’s first two physical singles, “Fluffy” and “Bros,” as well as its first official EP, Blush. Shortly after, Wolf Alice was cited by BBC Radio 6 Music as the U.K’.s most blogged about artist of the year.
Last year, the band signed with U.K. label Dirty Hit, released the EP Creature Songs, and won Best Breakthrough Artist at the UK Festival Awards. After a slate of relentless tours, Wolf Alice released its latest album, My Love is Cool.
Just after the release of the album’s third single, “Freazy,” My Love is Cool was shortlisted for Britain’s prestigious Mercury Prize. More recently, Wolf Alice’s “Moaning Lisa Smile” scored Grammy nomination for Best Rock Performance. Like the story that inspired its name, Wolf Alice is the sound of kaleidoscopic reality touched by heavy magic. Ignore it at your peril.
