wolf alice
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wolf alice

London, England, United Kingdom | Established. Jan 01, 2010 | INDIE

London, England, United Kingdom | INDIE
Established on Jan, 2010
Band Pop Folk

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This band has not uploaded any videos
This band has not uploaded any videos

Music

The best kept secret in music

Press


"EP review - Creature Songs (5/5)"

It’s so fucking Nineties, they say, as vocalist Ellie Rowsell stands there, hair tied up in a scrunchie, wearing a spaghetti strap dress and canvas platform boots, glancing over at bassist Theo Ellis, all bleach blond hair and oversized checked shirt. Yeah, Wolf Alice are really fucking Nineties. So Nineties that ‘Creature Songs’ couldn’t have been released in any year other than 2014.

Yeah, it’s grunge – but this is 2014 grunge. The angst oozing from the guitars of Ellie and bandmate Joff Oddie is tangible, whether accompanied by the yells of single ‘Moaning Lisa Smile’ and the even fiercer follow-up ‘Storms’, or the near-whispers of final two ‘Heavenly Creatures’ and ‘We’re Not The Same’.

It’s definitely an EP of two halves: Wolf Alice can – and do – ace both loud and quiet. There’s ‘Moaning Lisa Smile’ with a chorus that’s nothing short of glorious, and some deft sonic layering – putting Ellie’s powerful vocals over impeccable hooks and repeated aural blasts. And ‘Storms’ is even louder. The gem of the EP, it’s blistering, riff-driven grunge with a pop chorus that’s guaranteed to cause mayhem wherever it’s played. It’s fucking massive.

‘Heavenly Creatures’, meanwhile, is more melodic, almost atmospheric, sweet and tender, yet Ellie’s whisper possessing enough melancholy to keep the mood on a downer. Closer ‘We’re Not The Same’ tops off the mood in style – it’s a break-up song in the most traditional sense, matching the lyrical refrain with an expansive, epic, angry blast two minutes in.

Be deceived at your peril: they might resemble the cast of an old Nickelodeon telly series’ school talent show, but Wolf Alice are very much the here and now. - This is Fake DIY


"EP review - Creature Songs (8/10)"

One day there’ll be a successful horror franchise based on the true story of Wolf Alice. A beast of a band that lure in unsuspecting indiepop kids with Mazzy Star coos and clipped, winsome indie love songs about old photographs and then unleashing lines like “Time to die, time to kill… all for love, all for you, God’s a judge”, with bare claws like threshing blades gouging out their spleens with savage slashes of sadistic psycho-grunge guitar. It’s an approach that makes the London four piece a moodier, gothier Metric, but at least they’re upfront about it on this new EP. The first half – ‘Moaning Lisa Smile’ and ‘Storms’ (“My demon’s my friend, so fight me”) – comes on like the ritual sacrifice of Throwing Muses with Courtney Love’s rustiest guitar strings before ‘Heavenly Creatures’ and ‘We Are Not The Same’ indulge their softer psychedelic doom-folk side, the dejected calm after the massacre. Forget quiet/loud, these ‘Creature Songs’ are quiet/ravenous. - NME


"Gig review - Glastonbury 2014 (4/5)"

Where and when: John Peel stage, 4pm, Saturday.

Dress code: Neon pink girl-next-door dress for her; Hurts suits for him.

What happened: The cameras home in on Ellie Rowsell’s mud-caked boots, evidence that London’s Wolf Alice, when the going gets slurpy, are not afraid to get stuck in. Guitar rock’s meatiest new hope attack indie’s back pages with a similar ferociousness, She and Storms channelling grunge-pop glories such as the Breeders, Belly, Hole, the more aggressive end of shoegazing and the industro space goth of – remember them? – Curve. Melodic and savage in equal measure, these are sweet-toothed tunes doused in acidic bitterness, like hydrochloric bonbons.

It’s difficult to tell just how seriously Wolf Alice take themselves – their aesthetic is sour and glowering yet they’re happy to cross-dress in the spoof talent-show video for Moaning Lisa Smile, and today Rowsell is a vision in baby-doll pink. But for added festival impact they keep their sparser moments to a minimum, with only Blush delving into spectral coos and euphoric guitars presumably plugged into Expanding Galaxy pedals. For the rest, they thrash out motorik Primal Scream grinds and Metallica tribute riffs on Jam, rough up 12-bar rock’n’roll on Bros and generally prove themselves all-round indie saviours.

Best bit: Finishing Fluffy in a flurry of head banging and fret abuse the band, as one, drop their instruments and crowd-surf away into John Peel stage legend.

Worst bit: When Ellie’s vocals on a cover of Chris Isaak’s Wicked Game seem to predict an inevitable solo career in C&W.

In a tweet: Why Alice, what big tunes you have … - The Guardian


Discography

Still working on that hot first release.

Photos

Feeling a bit camera shy

Bio

Wolf Alice are a four-piece alternative rock band from north London, consisting of Ellie Rowsell, Joel Amey, Joff Oddie and Theo Ellis.

Debut single 'Fluffy' was released in February 2013, quickly followed by 'Bros', with the bands critically acclaimed debut EP 'Blush' landing in October 2013. 

With the release of their EP ‘Creature Songs’ in May 2014, Wolf Alice affirmed themselves as one of the brightest prospects in UK guitar music today. Mastering a wealth of genres into a fresh, inimitable sound, the group has seen the likes of BBC Radio One, NME and The Guardian falling head over heels for their growing catalogue of sugar-sweet / razor sharp anthems. 

Following a triumphant UK headline tour in the spring, culminating with a sold-out show at London's Scala, a rapturously received Glastonbury set kicked off a summer of high profile festival appearances in the UK and Europe.

Armed with their perfect timing in reaching their enviably young peak, Wolf Alice’s rising trajectory is one not to be missed. Debut LP slated for release early 2015.

Band Members