Wolf Alice are Theo Ellis, Joff Oddie, Ellie Roswell and Joel Amey.
Their debut album My Love is Cool recently peaked at number 2 in the charts (held at bay only by Florence & The Machine) and is a nominee for this year's Mercury Prize. Roswell and Oddie began writing songs together as an acoustic duo back in 2010, but it wasn't until 2012, after recruiting Ellis and Amey to play bass and drums, that Wolf Alice really found the sound which has seen them amass a devoted following and sell out venues all over the UK and abroad.
Wolf Alice have been teetering on the edge of stardom since releasing Leaving You as a free download on Soundcloud in 2012. The track garnered the attentions of many, including industry tastemaker, Huw Stephens, who gave the track several airings on his Radio 1 show.
Their tireless touring schedule, which has seen them appear at venues & festivals all over the UK and Europe as well as several trips to the US, has gone a long way to helping them build up the huge fanbase they currently enjoy. But it's difficult to record an album when you're constantly on the road, which is exactly why it took the band three years to record their debut record My Love is Cool and release it earlier this year. The long wait proved to be worthwhile, My Love is Cool is one of the albums of the year, showing just how versatile and dynamic the band really are.
At their very grungiest on Fluffy and You’re a Germ, they are raw and savage, Roswell cackling and howling like a woman possessed as guitars squeal and cymbals crash. Your Love’s Whore is a whirling, guitar-pop masterpiece, which builds up to an epic singalong chorus. Lisbon hums with fuzzy energy, Roswell summing up the angst & frustration of growing up when she purs “feel like going out and smashing windows”. Whilst My Love is Cool, is a great album, which has certainly lived up to hype Wolf Alice have generated over the last few years, it’s not completely without fumbles; new single Freazy is an odd listen, at times sounding like Lilly Allen doing All Saints on karaoke and and final track The Wonderwhy never feels like it really gets off the ground, compared to the other songs on the album. Overall it's still a brilliant record, on which the band leap effortlessly, from genre to genre, without ever losing the unique aspects of their sound which are so appealing.
Wolf Alice are Theo Ellis, Joff Oddie, Ellie Roswell and Joel Amey. Over the next 6 months they will be playing shows at intimate venues at home in the UK, as well as in the US, Europe and Japan, so catch them up close and personal whilst you can, before they're selling out arenas with their unique blend of sometimes grungy, sometimes poppy, but always intriguing, alt-rock.
