Album Review: Wolf Alice - 'Blue Weekend'
A little under four years since the release of their Mercury Prize winning second album ‘Visions of a Life’ Wolf Alice are back with their long-awaited third outing ‘Blue Weekend.’ It’s a tough act to follow such a well-loved album which housed ‘Don’t Delete the Kisses’ one of the few songs in the last two decades which could rival ‘Mr Brightside’ for the throne of most played on Radio 1. In short, the band had their work cut out.
The group themselves admitted it was quite a nerve-shredding prospect with singer Ellie Rowsell admitting “When we stopped touring, I thought ‘fuck, I haven’t written any songs.’”
People often cite the second album as being the hardest for a band, but in a lot of cases the wheels are in motion for that behind the scenes whilst still flying high with touring and promotion of the debut. Bands and their management will be acutely aware of the importance of coming back with a bigger and bolder second album to keep the ball in the air. The third can sometimes be where the wheels come off the bus and the song writing lake starts to dry up.
Early signs for the album were promising with the every bit as anthemic ‘The Last Man on Earth’ released back in February showcasing a band who had been sorely missed and were still on the top of their game.
‘The Beach’ works perfectly as the album opener with its steadily building pace and well-mapped out harmonies. Harmonies feel like a bit of a signature of the quartet’s sound now but they still execute them perfectly and they’re worth their weight in gold on each song they pop up in. Track two, ‘Delicious Things,’ for example, is a bit of a slow burner but as soon as the magic potion of harmonies is poured on it, it comes to life and transforms what could be an album filler into one you could imagine being sung back to the band in arenas through a shower of glitter.
Anyone still hankering for uncontrolled heavier moments which were ever-present in Wolf Alice’s debut outing ‘My Love Is Cool’ will likely be left disappointed and muttering to themselves at bar as aside from ‘Smile’ and ‘Play the Greatest Hits’ they’re few and far between here. The latter feels like a bit of a pre-emptive response to fans still beached on the island of the first album they’ve been refusing to budge from for the last six years. Substituting them in favour of more thought-provoking numbers feels like they’ve settled on a more consistent sound which plays to their strengths and gives them a bit more room for introducing new elements to the songs like keys and strings.
‘How Can I Make It OK’ feels like an instant classic. Stationed somewhere between Fleetwood Mac and Haim, Theo Ellis’ bass is turned up to full volume and driving the rest of the track around with Joel Amey’s drums also playing a key role by firing out directions from the front passenger seat.
Another album defining moment is ‘Feeling Myself.’ It carries a similar effect to that of ‘Teardrop’ by Massive Attack with its room for reflection carefully positioned in between a crescendo of synth and spellbinding guitar lines delivered by Joff Oddie.
It’s hard to formulate a completed opinion on ‘Blue Weekend’ after a solitary listen. For the most part I thoroughly enjoyed it but it feels and sounds like an album with so much more to give over time. Having said that, our favourite albums rarely reveal their full hand on first listen. It’s often the memories made when you least expect them which make them what they are. Listening in a car, in the park with friends or alone in a room after a heartbreak are what cements them in our favourites list and this album will undoubtedly be the top of many a list in years to come.
Words by Richard Cobb