Wolf Alice aims for the stars with sophomore album Visions of a Life

Wolf Alice – Theo Ellis – Joff Oddie – Ellie Roswell – Joel Amey

Bands that seemingly explode into relevance from the depths of obscurity often don’t deserve, nor do they typically earn, the lofty accolades so flippantly bestowed upon them.

Don’t make the erratum of lumping UK import’s Wolf Alice into this aforementioned category. The North London quartet’s debut, 2015’s My Love is Cool, fired one of hell of a shot over the rock industry’s bow.

The band’s resplendent initial studio effort also served notice to anyone within ear shot of My Love is Cool that Wolf Alice, even at the prepubescent stage of their career, were a burgeoning musical force to be reckoned with.

Critics and fans, particularly across the pond, have thoroughly embraced Wolf Alice and for good reason.

Star making sets at Glastonbury, Reading and Leeds these past few years, a Grammy nomination in 2016 for “Moaning Lisa Smile” and the myriad of accolades they’ve received from the British music industry and press have only served to fuel the considerable buzz surrounding Wolf Alice.

Unsurprisingly, expectations regarding the follow up to My Love is Cool boiled to an intense temperature before the record’s recent release.

Wolf Alice rise to the occasion on Vision of a Life as the record goes far beyond simply expanding on the sonic elements and ideas the band initially delved into on their debut.

Divergent soundscapes permeate throughout the record. From the punk driven bluster of lead single “Yuk Foo,” to the synth-pop laden dreaminess of “Don’t Delete the Kisses,” to the album’s shoegaze drenched inspired closer “Visions of Life,” Wolf Alice have crafted a record that’s the epitome of both auditory experimentation and exploration.

At times vocalist Ellie Roswell musters up all the bravado, defiance and trashiness of Hole’s Courtney Love, while other moments see the front woman display the vulnerability, introspection and angst that were hallmarks of mid 90’s era acts such as Juliana Hatfield and PJ Harvey.

Wolf Alice’s rhythm section, comprised of bassist Theo Ellis and drummer Joel Amey, provide the band with a thunderous backdrop. The duo aptly creates the foundation Wolf Alice deploy to build out their unique wall of sound If anything, drums and bass are designed to be the noise machine that fuels any guitar driven band’s engine and Ellis and Amey succeed mightily in this regard on Visions of a Life.

It’s worth mentioning the efforts of Paramore and M83 producer Justin Meldal-Johnsen here as his contributions behind the board for Visions of a Life reflect positively on the final product.

If a Grammy were given out for the best drums and bass mix on a rock record, the short list of nominees in 2018 would have to include Meldal-Johnsen.

The track “Heavenward” is a prime example of the producer’s influence in this regard, as the drums and bass are devilishly compacted on the track allowing the dense guitar riffs of Joff Oddie to crack with that much more of a weighted punch.

Meldal-Johnsen assists in creating a condition that allows Roswell the freedom to step to and remain in the band’s forefront without it feeling forced or necessary to keep things interesting.

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Oddie has also been left unshackled here to experiment with a myriad of riffs that evoke the best of the grunge and alternative movements, the trippy reverb and distortion of 70s space rock and the quiet to loud, back to quiet brilliance that’s the trademark of many of their shoegaze oriented contemporaries.

Visions of a Life constructs sonic windows that beg to be vigorously opened and deeply explored by listeners. The record at times is whimsical and romantic, however, it’s also undercut with more than a few sardonic shadows cast over lighter tracks such as “Don’t Delete the Kisses.”

Roswell seemingly finds contentment in musing sadly about happiness with this approach creating the perfect environment for Visions of Life to live on as one hell of a beautiful tragedy.

Wolf Alice also seem to be striking at the balance between struggle and stardom. Subsequently Visions of a Life contains an underlining sense of darkness, as if the band is peering through the looking glass at their own realized success with a sense of caustic trepidation.

The record’s mood bounces from the angelic to viscerous and from delicate to abrasive on the turn of dime. The band could seemingly host a master class on how to properly affect alternating sonic personalities.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=486sTKx9nK4

Wolf Alice have birthed a cross genre amalgamation with Visions of a Life that’s daring, vibrant and brilliantly layered. The record weaves a musical path that deliberately lacks straight lines while also combining just the right mix of invention and homage that’s sure to leave their ever growing fan base wanting for more.

Essential Tracks: “Formidable Cool” – “Visions of a Life” – “Heavenward” – “Don’t Delete the Kisses”