Blue Weekend. Wolf Alice

With it's previous two albums, 'My Love Is Cool' (2015) and 'Vision Of A Life' (2017), Wolf Alice made huge strides towards becoming better known and if the show at Paradiso three years ago is any indication, the band is a sensation on stage. Nothing to worry about, in fact extremely pleasant circumstances for a band to be in, but it does make expectations for that third album sky high. Are they met?

Yes.

That's the easy answer to give. Something has changed though. The tougher side of Wolf Alice has receded a little more more, once again, a side that came though extremely strong on stage. Enter a more commercial sound, moving towards dreampop. A sound of longheld synthscapes and other sounds creating the dreamy atmosphere that dominates Blue Weekend.

What this sound does is accentuate the qualities of singer Ellie Rowsell. Her voice is allowed to shine in all its appearances. From a whisper to a strong voice, deeper, higher Rowsell masters them all successfully. In fact she is turning out to be a better singer than I ever expected, competing with Blood Red Shoes' Laura May Carter directly for best female singer in UK alternative rock. Listening to the first songs for the first time on the audio set a totally different thought came to me. It seemed as if The Mamas and the Papas started its recording career in 2021, with, mostly, Ellie Roswell in the role of 'Mama' Cass, Michelle, Danny and John all in one.

The combination led to a conclusion that I am starting to like the band more by the album. This is the curve a music lover likes to see in a band. More listening sessions leads to a deeper relationship with an album. Where the first sessions gave me the impression that the band had incorporated a lot of lightweight pop elements into its music, later I started to notice the rocking details worked into the pop songs.

Promo photo: Jordan Hemingway

On the total other side the punkrock anthem 'Play the Greatest Hits' goes straight into Blood Red Shoes territory and even a little beyond. The rough end of Blue Weekend upsets the apple cart for a little while before an electric piano sound opens the dreamy 'Feeling Myself', a song moving into an alternative R&B mood. 'Feeling Myself' not only underscores the diversity on Blue Weekend but together the two songs show the superior quality of the album.

The basis of any artist is the songs. Without appealing songs an artist is nothing. Next to that there is image and stuff that adds to the picture. The next step is to be a successful live act. Wolf Alice has mastered all three parts of becoming a successful band. The new songs will allow them to create a great live show once again, where they can be subtle and rock out loud. (Adding a keyboard player is a prerequisite on the basis of what I'm hearing on Blue Weekend.)

With Blue Weekend Wolf Alice has made a giant step once again. Working with producer Markus Dravs has put the band in another league. The arena league of Coldplay and Arcade Fire. With one difference, when both two mentioned bands started to reach for the top of the hill, I lost interest totally in the music they produced. On Blue Weekend there is not a single song that makes me doubt Wolf Alice. The album sets a new standard for the band and let's hope that in 2022 we are able to go and watch them again. Who knows how large the venue needs to be this time round?

Wout de Natris

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