WOLF ALICE - "VISIONS OF A LIFE"
WOLF ALICE RELEASE THEIR LONG ANTICIPATED NEW ALBUM
WOLF ALICE - "VISIONS OF A LIFE" - RELEASED SEPTEMBER 29TH 2017
★★★★
London-based alternative rock quartet Wolf Alice have gained a reputation as one of the biggest acts to emerge from the British indie scene in recent years. Wrapping up their touring last summer in support of their 2015 debut album ‘My Love is Cool’, the band played an extensive UK tour including four nights at the Kentish Town Forum and appearing at Glastonbury and Bestival, before retreating to London then Los Angeles to write and record their much anticipated second album ‘Visions of a Life’. The album continues to draw upon the grunge, folk and rock influences that define the band’s sound up to now, however there is some more heavy and defined use of electronics and synths to add to the palette.
Wolf Alice have repeatedly acknowledged the diversity of the sound of their music, and the four singles released in advance of ‘Visions of a Life’ don’t deviate from this. The aggro-punk energy of lead single ‘Yuk Foo’ attacks the listener with all the subtlety of drinking a Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: the audio equivalent of ‘being hit with a slice of lemon wrapped around a gold brick’. Second single ‘Don’t Delete the Kisses’ is a complete contrast; an ethereal synthpop number with an anthemic chorus that will surely be a live favourite, and I’d rate as one of their best tracks to date. ‘Beautifully Unconventional’ channels an element of laid back funk rock, while ‘Heavenward’ directly addresses the death of a friend through an emotive vocal performance from Ellie Rowsell and a wall of grungy guitars: a style reminiscent of the earlier EP track ‘Storms’.
The highlights of the album’s other tracks include ‘Planet Hunter’, where faint strings and Joy Division-esque chorused guitars give way to a manic fuzz-heavy riff outro, and ‘Sky Musings’, a synth-heavy track where Rowsell’s haunting monologue is supported by reverberated atmospherics and Joel Amey’s powerful and repetitive drum beat. The quality does dip slightly among some of the offerings later on the tracklist, however any thought of this is crushed with the eight minute long epic of a title track ‘Visions of a Life’, which instrumentally isn’t too far flung away from a Queens of a Stone Age record and sounds freaking awesome.
I find that the main defining characteristic of Wolf Alice’s music is Rowsell’s ability to adapt her vocal delivery to fit the contrasting styles that the band take in each track they write (cough, see You’re a Germ, cough). This is mostly successful throughout ‘Visions of a Life’, whether it be her screeches and snarls in ‘Yuk Foo’ or the wishful spoken word segment in ‘Don’t Delete the Kisses’. It does retreat into the background too noticeably at points, which I think is more of an issue of the reverb-heavy production style and comparatively low vocal mix in some of the tracks, particularly in ‘Space & Time’.
This is not to say though that the production employed by Justin Meldal-Johnsen is a hindrance to the album though. In particular the variety and quality of guitar and synth tones across the album is very refreshing: the country-tinged arpeggios on ‘Formidable Cool’ and Joff Oddie’s euphoric solo on ‘Heavenward’ come to mind.
As someone who was very late in becoming a fan of Wolf Alice despite the many recommendations to listen to their early EPs, I’m really pleased to say that they have been able to follow up their much-acclaimed debut with a cohesive effort that broadens their already diverse sound. While to some it may lack a single that reaches the heights of ‘Bros’ or ‘Giant Peach’, what you have here is a band continuing to ride the wave of their breakthrough, delivering with much gusto on their sophomore effort.
Wolf Alice are embarking on a sizeable UK tour in the fall in support of ‘Visions of a Life’, which includes their biggest headlining show to date at London’s Alexandra Palace on November 24th.