Band of the Week #0060 - Wolf Girl
This weeks Band of the Week is indie-pop South Londoners Wolf Girl, their album ‘Every Now & Then’ is out now via Everything Sucks Music. We had a chat with vocalist Healey from the band about how the album came together and the bands plans for the rest of the year.
Where was the album recorded and why is it called ' Every Now & Then'?
‘Every Now & Then’ was recorded by our amazing friend Mark Jasper (of Witching Waves) at the now sadly defunct East London studio Sound Savers. Sound Savers was an incredible place where DIY bands from across the UK chose to record and we are so grateful to Mark for all the work he has done for the scene. We recorded our first album entirely by ourselves in the garage at Carl's dad's house and while we’re proud of creating something entirely DIY we felt that these new tracks needed a more polished and slicker feel to them.
‘Every Now & Then’ is an album about reflection, questioning and self-discovery. It’s about looking at the moments in your life and boils our philosophy down into two words: "Question everything". Because every now and then, you have to.The album takes its name from our single ‘Maths in the Real World’, but is also a slight nod to the greatest song of all time ‘Total Eclipse of The Heart’. Written and recorded in stages over the course of about a year these songs reflect the different personal growths that took place over that course of time.
Any behind the scenes stories from the recording process?
We foolishly scheduled in most of the recording sessions after a monthly club night I used to help run in South London called ‘Passionate Necking’. Mark probably has hours of recordings of us groaning and we discovered the best hangover cure is a type of peanut flavoured crisp. Our good friend Phil Whaite (of Guttfull) ripped out the saxophone solo on ‘Breaking News’ in one take. Christabel also invented a game where you read Craig David lyrics as if they are poetry, unfortunately that didn’t make the album.
What are the ideas and themes behind the album?
‘Every Now & Then’ consists of tunes about queer feelings, coming out and dealing with social burnout. Lyrically the majority of the song writing came from me and each song acted as a strange kind of therapy and catharsis, exploring sexuality, gender identity and anxiety. 'Breaking News' looks at choosing to come out when you want, in a society where queer people are forced to do so repeatedly, while 'Toast For Dinner' covers extreme social burnout and sleight of hand. 'This One Summer' is my attempt to take stock of the 'Ring Of Keys' moments in my life.
How would you describe it to someone who has never listened to it before?
Queer indie punk with a slight '60s pop hang-up for the socially awkward
On Friday 26th October, you are playing DIY Space London for your album launch. Does the venue hold a special place in your heart and why?
DIY Space for London is a totally independent volunteer-run community centre and gig venue. It's an all ages space whose membership are passionate about sustaining a low cost space for music and DIY culture existing in an increasingly expensive city. A space provided without capitalism as the primary motive is a vital resource for arts, activism, and community. Small venues across the UK are quickly disappearing, with not enough opening to replace them, which is why it’s really important that we support them in whatever way we can. We’d highly recommend joining DIY Space for London’s ‘Friends Scheme’ where you can chuck them a few quid every month to help sustain the space.
What are your plans for the rest of the year?
We’re finishing off the year with a handful of shows across the UK with our incredibly talented pals Charmpit.
Fri 26th October – DIY Space For London (Album Launch!)
Sat 3rd November – Queer As Day All-dayer - Green Door Store, Brighton
Sat 10th November – Cambridge Indiepop All-dayer ’18, The Blue Moon, Cambridge
Thu 15th November – Rough Trade, Nottingham
Fri 16th November – The Moon, Cardiff
Sat 17th November – The Exchange, Bristol