After months of anticipation, Wolf Alice have launched new album, The Clearing.
It’s their fourth studio album and first since signing for RCA. For a major label debut, they didn’t succumb to any pressure to reintroduce themselves, but rather took the chance to reinvent their sound. In this new iteration, they set aside the angst, and leaned into the composed. Delivering their most measured, grandest album yet.
It’s probably the release I’ve most looked forward to hearing this year. As mentioned on the Albums Ranked piece, I’m a huge fan of Wolf Alice’s earlier work, when their sound was heavier and generally guitar-based, with Visions of a Life being my favourite album. It seemed to capture every chaotic angle of being in your 20’s, and it managed to stick to every wall it threw itself on to. Creating multiple moments of beauty within its madness. Blue Weekend does feature a move away from this sound, and opts for a strings-heavy, harmonic direction. It did result in a more cohesive listen, but didn’t reach the same heights that VAOL did.
Hearing ‘Bloom Baby Bloom’ for the first time absolutely blew my mind. Each element of it decided to go balls to the wall, and managed to cram so much into three minutes. It’s genuinely insane, and is an absolute blast to listen to. How Ellie Rowsell didn’t vomit from the sheer force she brings to her vocals is astounding, and they fit within the over the top aesthetic brilliantly. It lead me to believe that this level of bonkers would exist throughout The Clearing, but it doesn’t. As much as you could say that it’s good that it’s all contained within the single, it would’ve been cool to hear this level of energy and vibrancy throughout the album, especially in the absence of a heavier sound.
Opener ‘Thorns’ begins with a momentous piano and string intro that gives an idea of the level of grandeur to expect. Setting the stage for Ellie’s vocals to slip between the layers with ease, detailing an internal struggle as to whether it was right to put everything on show on Blue Weekend. It brings a level of grounded that keeps things from floating too far away, and is a great way to kick things off.
‘Just Two Girls’ chimes in with a jaunty piano section that hasn’t left my mind since release day. Initially, I felt that it’s a very okay song, but it has grown into a real earworm, and the contrast of liking/disliking somebody in the lyrics adds to its absurdness. ‘Leaning Against The Wall’ sees a return to the band’s folk roots as Americana-flaired guitars set a dusty atmosphere for Ellie’s full-heart lyrics to conjure up idyllic images akin to ‘Don’t Delete The Kisses’. It leads nicely into ‘Passenger Seat’, an immediate favourite that amps up the pace, and fills the room with a desert-tinged sound that I can’t get enough of.
‘Play It Out’ deserves to be highlighted. Its piano-led instrumental feels like it wanders with the contemplative lyrics. Ellie touches upon thoughts of reaching a certain age as a woman in music, and the argument to follow either career or biological clashes against the unneeded sounding board of the thoughts of others’. It becomes the most intimate song on the record, with a vulnerability that feels easy to connect to.
While some may feel disappointed with The Clearing, it feels like the work of a band who have made it to the top. Like Arctic Monkeys did with The Car, Wolf Alice have taken a risk on a hard reset. There’s no need for guitars anymore – the yearning for more is fulfilled, and while I miss the grittiness, or at least wish there was more pacier numbers like ‘Bread Butter Tea Sugar’, the music is nuanced and, of course, pristine.
No longer are we witnessing a band climbing the ranks towards bigger venues and spots on festival line-ups, this feels like Wolf Alice are already there. They’ve certified themselves as one of the best bands in music, and The Clearing cements that status.