Live From Space Studios: Wolf Alice
Photo by Rachel Fleminger Hudson
What started out as an acoustic duo made up of Ellie Rowsell and Jeff Oddie doing open mic shows has blossomed into what many would consider the best rock band out of the UK in the last 10 years. The current members of Wolf Alice are Ellie Rowsell (lead vocals and guitar), Jeff Oddie (guitar), Joel Amey (drums) and Theo Ellis (synths and bass).
In an interview with Brightonsfinest from 2017, Oddie talks about how these open mics helped polish their song writing skills. “We came from bugger all, to be honest. An acoustic guitar, and that was it. For a very long time. The benefit of that is that you can’t hide behind loud drums or bass, or guitar lines, when you are literally playing an acoustic guitar, and singing. So, you’ve got to make sure the songwriting is right. And that is definitely the benefit of that. You can’t hide behind anything.”
The English have a way with words. This statement is backed by generations of great English poets and musicians, from Shakespeare, to Austen, to The Beatles, and is once again proven true by a band like Wolf Alice. It is a rare and special combination when a band has lyrics and production that are equal in quality and neither of the two is lacking in any way. In addition to amazing vocals from the lead singer Roswell and chords/drums/synths that are among the best in all of rock, they have no shortage of lyrics that can be considered pure poetry.
I could make a list of all the lyrics from all the songs by the band that I think are great, but why deprive our loyal readers of experiencing these lyrics for the first time upon listening to their music? Surely this would be cruel! Instead I am just going to list a few lines from their hit song “Don’t Delete The Kisses” that I feel could be course material for a college literature class. Or at the very least, printed out and hung up on a teenager’s wall. One of the two. This song made its debut on Beats 1 Radio in 2017 and Rowsell described the song as, “one of those, you know, ‘head-out-the window on a long drive’ kind of tunes”.
[Verse 1]
When I see you, the whole world reduces
To just that room
And then I remember and I'm shy
That gossip's eye will look too soon
And then I'm trapped, overthinking
And yeah, probably self-doubt
You tell me to get over it
And to take you out
[Verse 2]
A few days pass since I last saw you
And you've taken over my mind
I'm retelling jokes you made that made me laugh
Pretending that they're mine
[Verse 2]
I'm electric, a romantic cliché
Yeah, they really are all true
When we catch eyes at that stupid party
I know exactly what to do
I'll take your hand, and we will leave
French exits from me and you
Poetry I tell you, poetry! Wolf Alice is surely going to continue to cement themselves as a premier rock band and I am eager to see how their fanbase grows after it was announced that they would be doing a few shows with Olivia Rodrigo on her next tour.
Rock on Wolf Alice, rock on