The album is opened with 'Turn To Dust' in which Ellie Rowsell sings "Keep your beady eyes on me, to make sure I don't turn to dust" the innocence in her voice and the mellow tone of the guitar leaves anyone who hasn't heard of Wolf Alice before with a huge surprise to come later on in the album, as it doesn't share many similarities in terms of the genre of music.
The second song in the album is 'Bros' which was recorded as a demo in their early days of Wolf Alice, and has been developed a lot, it's an incredible uplifting song which was written about Ellie and her childhood best friend Sadie when they were younger, as Ellie sings "Remember when we cut our hair, we both look like boys but we didn't care, stick it out together like we always do" we understand that Ellie and her best friend embraced it and it's sort of a way of saying 'nothing matters as long as we're together' which suggets that they had a very strong friendship. Wolf Alice have recently released a video for ''Bros' and I will leave the link below, so if you have the time it's really worth the watch, it helps you to understand the bond between Ellie and Sadie, making the song more meaningful each time you listen to it.
Track 3 "Your Loves Whore" may come as a surprise to some people as it is when the grungy dark side of Wolf Alice starts to appear and the real identity of the intriguing four piece is exposed. Ellie breaks free of her shell. The fourth song on the album and one of my favorites to hear live is "You're A Germ". The song starts off with a continuous guitar riff with innocent wide eyed Rowsell and drummer Joel Amey singing softly into the microphone until the four piece explode leaving distorted guitar sounds echoing throughout the room whilst all four band members and the crowd shout together "ONE, TWO, THREE, FOUR, FIVE, SIX, SEVEN, YOU AIN'T GOING TO HEAVEN!" Bass guitarist Theo Ellis really gets involved with the crowd, you sometimes find him face to face with a fan whilst they scream lyrics at each other. 'You're A Germ' is such a fun song to witness live and it really gets the crowd going. The explosive 4 piece calm down for the 5th track 'Libson', although the soft innocent voice in Roswell is singing, the lyrics aren't so virtuous as she sings about how she "feel[s] like going out and smashing windows" however the oxymoron of the troublesome lyrics and the sweet sounding music that is expressing her frustration and emotions work nicely together.
The 6th track on the album 'Silk' is easily one of my favorites as it is just so relaxing. The song starts off with a spacey, synthesised sound which progresses throughout the track, creating a calming atmosphere which will pacify you. Silk is a good song to zone out to. The vocals and their changes in 'Silk' are very unique as it is Ellie singing but in the perspective of two people, as she sings "Well who's fault is that if it wasn't mum and dads?" when a low pitched whisper replies "Well it must be yours" which is also Rowsell, to which she then responds back in her normal voice "We'll have none of that" this may suggest that the two different voices she puts on could represent her as two different people, perhaps her past self and her present self, reflecting on mistakes that she has made.
Another favourite of mine is track 7 'Freazy' which in my opinion is the catchiest on the album. The lyrics of 'Freazy' are what many teenagers reach out for as they may feel accepted and involved in a community, for example when Ellie sings "You can join us if you think you're wild, you can join us if you're a feral child, our love is cool". Many teenage fans may like to think of Wolf Alice and their fans are like a family, they all look out for each other and enjoy the music together, something a lot of people seek for in life. Music redeems you from isolation and helps you find yourself. 'Giant Peach' which is easily Wolf Alice's best song in my opinion, the grungy tone on the guitar and the aggressive vocals from Rowsell later on in the song make it a piece of music you can't not be appreciative for.
Drummer of the band Joel Amey takes over the vocals on song number 9 on the album 'Swallowtail' as he sings "I met you up the top The Shard, as we fell, I never thought we'd hit this hard" the meaningful lyrics and the sof tone of Joel's voice helps you loosen up and leaves you feeling relaxed, that is until 4 minutes and 50 seconds into the song just as you think it is fading out, the song explodes with drum beats and distorted guitar notes giving you a psychedelic headrush. Ellie Rowsell is back on vocals for the 10th song on the album, 'Soapy Water' is my favourite song lyrically as I feel that Ellie really opens up and shares her experiences of anxiety, for example "Anxietys grip is always waiting to take me, it sits in my stomach, I fear it's starting to shape me, It's hard to live when you're scared to die.", I think these genius lyrics are something I think a lot of teenage fans will be able to relate to therefore the song will mean something to them personally. 'Fluffy' then opens with more manic guitar riffs and wild drum beats, to which Rowsell sings about how she lived in a "Dead-out town" (much like she did in their 8th track 'Giant Peach') with a chorus that the audience can really get into "SIXTEEN, SO SWEET". Leaving me with the last track on the album 'The Wonderwhy' with the hidden acoustic track 'My Love Is Cool'. The Wonderwhy opens with more spacey synths, mellow drum beats and a catchy bassline. The Wonderwhy lyrically is also incredible as Ellie sings "Don't leave me here, leave me thinking for myself, when I cant remember the days of the week, the weeks of the month, and the months of the year." The album then finishes with the hidden acoustic song in which Ellie sings in a beautiful, soft, innocent voice "My love bends rules, my love is cool.". I was lucky enough to see Wolf Alice perform at Reading festival on Saturday the 29th of August, it was my first time hearing a few of the new songs off the album and I was not let down, it was such an amazing set and the 4 piece really do go wild, and they certainly know how to control a crowd of 20,000 people.
Wolf Alice - Bros (Official Music Video)
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