Blue Weekend by Wolf Alice

The last time I wrote about Wolf Alice, they were coming in hot. Their debut album, My Love is Cool, had come out in 2015, and I loved it so much it ended up at #3 that year. My love for them waned over the coming years. Their 2017 sophomore release, Visions of a Life, didn’t connect with me at all, and I can’t tell you the last time I listened to Cool. I’d pretty much written them off. So much so, I didn’t think anything of it when they released a new album in June. But then I started hearing their new songs pop up in unexpected places, and my interest was — thankfully — renewed.

Blue Weekend is not the Wolf Alice of old. If you liked their previous albums, you’ll hear the same foursome still playing the same instruments: lead singer Ellie Rowsell, guitarist Joff Oddie, bassist Theo Ellis, and drummer Joel Amey. But their songwriting and structure have grown much deeper in the 6 years that have passed since their debut. There are significant builds (check out the video for the first song on the album, “The Beach,” above), quieter spots, and everything in between. Every song doesn’t have to slay. And while the music is lush and distorted, the production is spot on. This is the music of a band who’ve had a decade’s worth of practice to really dial it all in.

The album is solid from start to finish. Typical for today, you can listen to the whole thing on YouTube. But Wolf Alice took it a step further, creating a video for each song, all of which string together into a single 40 minute short film. I had a tough time picking which song to feature at the top of the post. I landed on the first song as the beginning felt like a good place to start. Feel free to pop into any of the other songs on the album, or do like I did and watch the whole thing start to finish. It’s worth it.

The Beach (shown above)
Delicious Things
Lipstick on the Glass
Smile
Safe From Heartbreak (if you never fall in love)
How Can I Make It Ok?
Play the Greatest Hits
Feeling Myself
The Last Man on Earth
No Hard Feelings
The Beach II

Here’s to another decade of Wolf Alice. They’re back on track for me, and perhaps they never left for some of you. Either way, I’m excited by their new music, and I’ve got my fingers crossed that they continue well into the future.

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19. Mainly Gestalt Pornography by Pearly Gate Music
20. Peace Or Love by Kings of Convenience
21. These 13 by Jimbo Mathus & Andrew Bird
22. Mr. Corman: Season 1 by Nathan Johnson
23. Home Video by Lucy Dacus
24. I’ll Be Your Mirror: A Tribute to The Velvet Underground & Nico by Various Artists
25. Siamese Dream by Fruit Bats
26. NINE by Sault
27. Observatory by Aeon Station
28. The Monster Who Hated Pennsylvania by Damien Jurado
29. A Beginner’s Mind by Sufjan Stevens and Angelo De Augustine
30. Where the End Begins by Knathan Ryan
31. Private Space by Durand Jones & The Indications

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Full Album
All albums in their entirety.

Radio Station
A single song selection pulled from each album.

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My Love Is Cool by Wolf Alice

The band here at #3 on this year’s Top 31 comes with what I feel has had the most success, at least in the musical circles that I frequent. Wolf Alice, from North London, are a heavily-produced foursome led by original founding members Ellie Rowsell on vocals and backup guitar and Joff Oddie on lead guitar and backup vocals. Those two started the band as a duo in 2010, but then it grew to a traditional rock n’ roll foursome in 2012 with the addition of Theo Ellis on bass and Joel Amey on drums.

This album has been a long time coming, as My Love Is Cool is their debut, collecting the best of the songs they’ve been performing since 2012. There’s a lot of references heard throughout this album, spanning the 80s through to today. I can pinpoint sounds that remind me of all of the following: The Breeders, Garbage, Cranberries, Dubstar, Silversun Pickups, Sleigh Bells, and The Runaways. I’m sure there’s more, but that should give you a good sense of what their sound is like. Rock pop, through and through.

And the album has been heavily promoted, too, with no less than six different songs from the 13-song debut getting the video treatment. There’s “You’re A Germ,” above, and these other five videos, all of which are good songs both sonically and visually:

“Fluffy”
“Bros”
“Moaning Lisa Smile”
“Giant Peach”
“Freazy”

Go ahead and watch them all, I’ll wait here until you’re done.

Now then. I know your next move: head to your nearest online or IRL music purveyor and purchase this album. #2 coming tomorrow!

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4. Carrie & Lowell by Sufjan Stevens
5. Sometimes I Sit And Think, And Sometimes I Just Sit by Courtney Barnett
6. I Love You, Honeybear by Father John Misty
7. Sound & Color by Alabama Shakes
8. Another Eternity by Purity Ring
9. Girls in Peacetime Want to Dance by Belle and Sebastian
10. Return to the Moon by El Vy
11. Hamilton (Original Broadway Cast Recording) by Lin-Manuel Miranda
12. Art Angels by Grimes
13. The Horse Comanche by Chadwick Stokes
14. Grace Love & the True Loves by Grace Love & the True Loves
15. Shake Shook Shaken by The dø
16. La Di Da Di by Battles
17. Sky City by Amason
18. What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World by The Decemberists
19. Untethered Moon by Built to Spill
20. Viet Cong by Viet Cong
21. The Magic Whip by Blur
22. Savage Hills Ballroom by Youth Lagoon
23. Not Real by Stealing Sheep
24. Beat the Champ by The Mountain Goats
25. Gliss Riffer by Dan Deacon
26. Dark Bird is Home by The Tallest Man on Earth
27. Gunnera by Pfarmers
28. Swimmer to a Liquid Armchair by Ricked Wickey
29. To Pimp a Butterfly by Kendrick Lamar
30. Live in Seattle by Moufang / Czamanski
31. High by Royal Headache

What is the Bacon Top 31?
Past years’ Top 31s

#18 on the 2021 Bacon Top 31 — Wolf Alice

#3 on the 2015 Bacon Top 31