Wolf Alice - My Love is Cool

  by Gillian Fish

published: 5 / 7 / 2015

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Review

North Londoners Wolf Alice are finally set to release their long-awaited debut album; Recorded in Wood Green, 'My Love is Cool' is the band’s first release since EP 'Creature Songs' in 2014 and has been produced by Mike Crossey who has also worked with Foals and Arctic Monkeys. Having toured extensively both here in the UK and across the pond in the US, and making several high-profile festival appearances over the past eighteen months (including at Glastonbury and Reading and Leeds), they have gathered an ever-expanding fan base with their live shows serving as a taster as to what we were to expect from their full-length debut. Opener ‘Turn to Dust’ is haunting, showcasing Ellie Rowsell’s captivating and delicate vocals. The already familiar ‘Bros’ has been re-worked without losing any of its original charm. It tells the tale of childhood friendship and is a wonderful slice of indie-pop. Recently announced as the new single, ‘You’re a Germ’ provides the perfect jump around, sing-along moment with its count-up lyrics of “One, two, three, four, five, six, seven/You ain’t going to heaven.” Wolf Alice have always been difficult to define by genre. They recently stated that 'My Love is Cool' would not be a “grunge record”, and the album switches at ease between the softer acoustic-folk moments to the guitar driven head-banging anthems. On ‘Silk’ there are hints of hip-hop and nods to Lana Del Rey, while ‘Lisbon’ has a slightly more 80’s feel to it. It’s their versatility that makes 'My Love is Cool' such an enjoyable debut, and it’s evident that each individual member has brought their own influences to the record. Drummer Joel Amey takes over the vocal duties on ‘Swallowtail’, the gentle, sweeping ballad building to a crescendo towards the end. Perhaps most obvious to long-standing Wolf Alice fans is the omission of previously released songs other than the aforementioned 'Bros' and the superb ‘Fluffy’. The decision could seem like a strange one, but, however, the remaining nine tracks on the album prove Wolf Alice had an extensive catalogue to choose from and the songs chosen to make up the album sit as a collection together just as well as they work individually. Single ‘Giant Peach’ with its catchy guitar riffs helped the band to be played on mainstream radio stations when it was released earlier in the year, and it provides one of the albums heavier, grungier moments where Rowsell’s true rock queen status shines through. The hidden track ‘The Wonderwhy’ closes the album beautifully with its echoing vocals and simple melodies. 'My Love is Cool' has been masterfully executed, and it could well be the springboard that launches Wolf Alice to become one of Britain’s biggest and most loved bands.

Track Listing:-

1 Turns To Dust
2 Bros
3 Your Loves Whore
4 You're A Germ
5 Lisbon
6 Silk
7 Freazy
8 Giant Peach
9 Swallowtail
10 Soapy Water
11 Fluffy
12 The Wonderwhy

Band Links:-

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolf_Ali
http://wolfalice.co.uk/
https://www.facebook.com/wolfalicemusi
https://twitter.com/wolfalicemusic

Label Links:-

http://www.dirtyhit.co.uk/
https://twitter.com/DirtyHitRecords
https://www.facebook.com/DirtyHitRecor
http://www.last.fm/label/Dirty+Hit