Album Review: Wolf Alice – The Clearing

When Don’t Delete the Kisses hit the airwaves, Wolf Alice cemented their place as one of Britain’s most exciting bands, balancing indie grit and dreamlike tones. Since then, Ellie Rowsell, Joff Oddie, Theo Ellis, and Joel Amey have built a career on constant evolution—always chasing a new edge. Their latest album, The Clearing, released on RCA/Columbia Records, finds the band stepping into yet another new chapter. Recorded in LA, The Clearing looks to draw on that west coast, sun-drenched, 1970s-inspired pop-rock, while keeping that unmistakable Wolf Alice undercurrent.  I cannot wait to dive into this one!!

Thorns is how you open an album! Shades of John Lennon and Beatle-like instrumentation, though the musical interlude mid-track doesn’t work for me (they cut it from their live performances, so I’m clearly not alone in this thought) – but don’t let that tarnish an otherwise strong opener. First single release Bloom Baby Bloom up next, with a fantastic piano riff and galloping beat, Ellie shows off a fantastic vocal range that, frankly, I didn’t know she had, while Just Two Girls definitely gives off that 1970’s pop-rock vibe, with just a shade of Diane Birch about it. The murmuring hum of a small gathering greats you in the acoustic Leaning Against the Wall, which more than a hint of Cat Stevens-come-Paul Simon about the instrumentation of the track, but with Ellie’s fantastic vocals, while Passenger Seat sounded like a track straight from the Fleetwood Mac archives (or the Daisy Jones and the Six soundtrack), while Play It Out turns the tempo right down, with this introspective broody feeling track that was very present in Blue Weekend.

Bread Butter Tea Sugar – a track which again has a scent of the Beatles about it, with an aromatic whiff of Led Zeppelin to the ending – feels a little tribute-esque, while Safe in the World sounds like Karen Carpenter has reincarnated to sing to a musical arrangement straight from Buffalo Springfield’s For What It’s Worth, with Midnight Song showing off an impressive vocal range in a light but otherwise largely forgettable track. Penultimate track (and most recent single) White Horses – which is easily my favourite track on the album, with Joel taking the lead vocals and not feeling like a homage to any of the greats, and we round off with another single release The Sofa – another strong track, almost an ode to being ok with wanting different things at different times, in different moods.

The Clearing is 41 minutes of polished and alive tracks, brimming with a confidence only a band a decade deep can summon. I can see this album dividing the fans, as it’s so devolved from previous releases – I can see it being a bit like Marmite (or Vegimite, if you’re an Aussie). The whole Fleetwood mac/1970’s tribute tracks has already been done by Daisy Jones & the Ting Tings (to name two off of the top of my head), so there’s hardly a unique feel to the album – I found myself both amazed and underwhelmed… maybe my expectations were too high. I’m going to probably favourite a few of the tracks, but the album isn’t amongst those sainted few who make the cut in it’s entirety… now I’m off to listen to Visions of a Life and think about what could have been!!

Graeme R