WOLF ALICE – and so she thinks

Alice in Wonderland

admin — Thu, 04 Jun 2015 18:41:00 +0000

This year Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland celebrates its 150th birthday. The story, about a bright and curious girl navigating her way through a shifting and changing world is fantastical and a fairy tale, deranged felines and unpunctual rabbits not being something we encounter in our every day lives. But there is depth to the story, and Lewis Carroll’s prose can be acutely relevant for humanity and daily life.
Alice, like so many young people, is struggling to come to terms with the world around her. The world is never explained and never fits a set of rules, and remains a bit nonsensical and random, because it is. She’d like it if things changed.
‘If I had a world of my own… nothing would be what it is because everything would be what it isn’t. And contrary-wise; what it is it wouldn’t be, and what it wouldn’t be, it would.’
She doesn’t know what she wants – just that she doesn’t want the way it is. This of course makes it hard for her to move forwards, and as much as she seeks advice from outside, and directions from talking cats she’s stuck. She has no goal or understanding – but this doesn’t mean her life will stand still.
‘Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?’
‘That depends a good deal on where you want to go,’ said the Cat.
‘I don’t much care where–’ said Alice.
‘Then it doesn’t much matter which way you go,’ said the Cat.
‘–so long as I get somewhere,’ Alice added as an explanation.
‘Oh, you’re sure to do that,’ said the Cat, ‘if you only walk long enough.’
But not having a particular end in mind is not a bad thing necessarily, and fluidity is important in life. When it is combined with action.
‘Begin at the beginning, and go on till you come to the end: then stop.’
The trouble is when you don’t dare to dream. It’s the Queen who plants the seed of aiming high in her head.
‘There’s no use in trying,’ Alice said, ‘one can’t believe impossible things.’ ‘I daresay you haven’t had much practice,’ said the Queen. ‘When I was your age, I always did it for a half an hour a day. Why, sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.’’
She is also struggling to come to terms with herself. Alice in Wonderland teaches us that the self is shifting and transient, and that that none of us can ‘go back to yesterday. I was a different person then.’ No one can go back to yesterday, to the unmuddled days of childhood. Thoughts and experiences all leave their marks upon us, in subtle or dramatic ways. Forging identity is one of the hardest parts of growing up – working out what makes you sparkle and thrive.
Self reflection can help. It’s important to keep exploring the self and personality, as it will change through small actions and events, but buried underneath such ephemera is the core self and values. Whilst no one should doubt themselves, we should always be questioning.
‘Was I the same when I got up this morning? I almost think I can remember feeling a little different. But if I’m not the same, the next question is ‘Who in the world am I?’ Ah, that’s the great puzzle!’
And the great question. She might have fallen down a hole and had some troublesome experiences, but ultimately Alice grows from them. There’s a lot to be learned from Alice in Wonderland.

‘She generally gave herself very good advice, (though she very seldom followed it).’

Wolf Alice – Giant Peach

admin — Tue, 24 Mar 2015 17:53:00 +0000

Wolf Alice are back from SXSW and have a new album out. What’s different now from before? Well, they can play their instruments now. Despite evidence to the contrary, Joel, drummer from the band tells me how ‘We were shit, so we threw ourselves into learning our instruments. There was no excuse any more.’ Listen to them enrapture you with their snarling whirl of sonic magic on Giant Peach, ahead of the release of debut album My Love Is Cool in June.

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=D_MTHwAp-_Q

Photo by Emily Cheng for Impose Mag

Wolf Alice @ The Scala

admin — Mon, 02 Jun 2014 11:14:20 +0000

28th May 2014 with Superfood and Gengahr
Dolled up in glitter and resembling different aspects of Ziggy Stardust, Wolf Alice bound on to the stage at a packed out Scala. ‘It’s so good to be home’ beams Ellie, before they launch into latest single Moaning Lisa Smile, before quickly powering into the snarl of She. Playing with zeal throughout, the London four piece power through songs that certainly please the crowd, but could never be simply defined as ‘crowd pleasers’ – they are more instinctive than that, visceral in nature as well as being emotional. Fan power is evident here, and the crowd chant lyrics to even unreleased tracks, such as Pixies esque You’re A Germ, as both audience and band throw themselves into proceedings. Capable of powerful angst fuelled tunes and slower more contemplative scores, such as Blush, Wolf Alice always have a depth to their writing, although thankfully execute it without any self reflexiveness or introversion. Ravaging and revealing in equal measure, it’s hard not to read into the lyrics as they are pummelled towards you, this combination of the singular and the collective of course making some gigs the religious quasi-experiences they are. The set was short, streaking through a mere dozen songs, including the latest EP Creatures, but those 45 minutes wielded more than a hefty punch. The ‘final’ song before an inevitable encore was the camaraderie fuelling Bros, although the greatest pogo-ing game from real final track Fluffy, its final chords seeing an amusing and endearing failed attempt t crowd surf from bassist Theo.
Tonight surely shattered any delusions that Wolf Alice might be just another teenage band. Everything from the pensive haunting moments to frantic punk riffing was executed with perfect turbulence and attitude, and we lapped it up. Wolf Alice, it’s good to have you home.

Wolf Alice – Creature Songs EP

admin — Wed, 28 May 2014 13:35:32 +0000

Wolf Alice‘s latest EP Creature Songs is out now, and it’s as base and brilliant as everything we’ve heard before. A little introverted, emotionally resonant to the individual, and by default, a lot universal, this collection of blissful grunge show Wolf Alice at a more mature stage but with as much passion as ever. ‘Fight those demons’ Ellie sings. Indeed.

Five tunes for your long weekend

admin — Fri, 23 May 2014 15:55:11 +0000

A 50% longer weekend, hurrah. Here’s five tracks to make it go with a bang!

Live At Leeds 2013

admin — Sun, 05 May 2013 19:06:12 +0000

Leeds is a city brimming with musical talent and enthusiasm, every northern street oozing some kind of inspiration and output, and the annual Live At Leeds festival sees a whole host of bands join the homegrown musicians to celebrate and showcase the best in new music. This year, the city slicking festival’s seventh year, saw over 120 artists performing across the city, from native and highly successful Yorkshire lads The Pigeon Detectives to new and emerging Witch Hunt, local legends Sky Larkin to New York newbies MS MR, and straight up swilling rock’n’roll band The Struts to soulful synths courtesy of Lulu James. Determined to see as many bands as possible, without running around the city like a relentless parking attendant on speed, we spent Saturday 4th May discovering some new favourites.
Kicking off at uber cool Nation Of Shopkeepers was young Georgia Thursting. Soulful and skittish, Georgia and her band played a funk and bluesy melange, all short songs about love and heartbreak. For those keen to find out more, the helpful lass has made it easier to hunt her down amongst the devilishly densely populated world wide web, stressing to the titters of captivated gentlemen the doe eyed songstress stressed that her name is not Thrusting but Thursting. Told.
Menace Beach have been something of a buzz band of late, and their short (15 mins max) set revealed why. Pivoting around the boy girl dynamic duo of Ryan and Liza and supplemented with members of Sky Larkin and Hookworms, their scuzzy grunge riffs and furiously grooving melodies have been turning heads.
Live music in a church is always a winner, especially when accompanied by a pint, and today was no different. Leeds’ Holy Trinity Church is one of the county’s most eminent art spaces, and we arrived in time to catch the end of George Ezra‘s set. The shifting strains of this young songsmith resonated through the rafters of the church, his vocals and notes blossoming into inspired and invigorating tunes. After his final notes died away and we were left with chills, we ran to Mill’s, the least practical venue ever imagined, to cTxh the bluesy swing of Liverpool born David Broad, all toe tapping eccentricity.
DH Lawrence’s Sons And Lovers is one of my favourite books of all time, its detailed and delicate dissection of the complexities of relationships and resolutions so striking and powerful, subtle in their sophistication. The band of the same name are more immediately brash and accessible, like a version of White Lies meets Vampire Weekend, or something similar. Soaring choruses and simple melodies, they make good, yet somewhat entry level indie.
Next up was a sprint up to the Uni to see what Post War Glamour Girls had to offer. Straddling pendulum style between glorious soaring strings and harmonies and angst driven roars and rumbles, this home grown band sent shivering and colossal shifts through the crowd as they captivated via their intimidating and heavy ambience. Australian indie rockers Deep Sea Aracde were up me their raucous and furious rock crackling with punishing thrills on the stage.
I can’t remember a time in my life when my aural excitement hasn’t been fuelled by guitar wielding bands, but apparently guitar music has been dead for a while, and Savages are the band to bring it back. The following statement may have me vilified and marginalised by small music press, but, really? Not nearly as tantalising and the reviews and hyperbole would have you believe, the set was frustrating and limited, failing to set me alight. I seemed to be alone however, as the crowd rocked and swayed with adulation. Wolf Alice have been making waves on the airwaves with their stupefyingly youthful melodies and crackling hooks, and today’s gig reassured early fans that their faith was not misplaced. Poppy 90s influenced grunge flecked with thrillingly steadfast riffs, they could well be one of the new waves of bands to last longer than a few months.
By this point the Cockpit was already operating a one in one out system as the queue snaked multiple streets from the venue. The crowd lined up in anticipation of something of a buzz line up, with Peace and their fellow B town buzz band Swim Deep on the bill, punctuated by the gritty and soaring Unknown Mortal Orchestra. The latter are seductively sincere, their grubby tumbling songs instinctive and invigorating. Particularly potent and thrilling onstage, their vivid and resonant melodies were delivered in a somewhat seismic fashion. With both Swim Deep and Peace you know what you are getting, and they rarely disappoint. Sunny grunge, soaring choruses, languid and defiant lyrics and entrancing guitars, both bands banged out tune after tune. Even in the dark and wintry tunnel of the Cockpit Swim Deep’s summer tune King City warmed and welcomed with spirit. Despite Peace lead singer Harry’s best attempt to distract from the musical output of his band, by rocking a sartorial ensemble put together by cutting up his grandmother’s curtains, tablecloth, and carpet, all in one outfit, he was unable to detract from what are some absolute belters of songs, Lovesick and Float Forever being particularly riotous.
As the final notes of played and the crowd descended into indie disco, the overwhelming feeling was one of success. Sore feet, followed by an even sorer head the next morning, hut a whole host of newly discovered bands to further investigate, and even more that I could not fit into the day but have added to the list to find. Another year and yet further proof that this northern city has a lot to offer.

Live At Leeds 2013

admin — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 17:19:26 +0000

It’s important to know (and I say this as someone who lives in London and grew up dreaming of doing so) that the capital is not always where it is at. Cities across the UK are bubbling with creativity and musical delight, and in fact the more succinct style of many cities means that as a genuine hub and collective for musical creativity they function better than the expansive and competitive London. Leeds is one such example, and Live At Leeds, an annual festival since 2007, celebrates the local whilst not being so narrow minded as to presume that the rest of the UK is devoid of talent, uniting the best upcoming local bands alongside more established national acts.
Taking place over May Bank Holiday, this year the weekend kicks off with The Unconference , a schedule of seminars and talks on the music business. Curated by whiskas (¡Forward, Russia!, Dance To The Radio, IMGNTN) and supported by Leeds Metropolitan University, the focus this year will be around networking and the landscape of music consumption in the digital landscape, a pertinent issue for creators, consumers, and everyone in between.
It’s this that I like about Live At Leeds ; it’s not just about stumbling from bar to bar lagered up (although I love that too), but about a genuine love for music and how to make it sustainable and exciting for everyone involved. Oh yeah, and the fact that it is only £22.50 for over a hundred bands, including Little Comets, Tribes, Maybe She Will, Sons & Lovers, Theme Park, Wolf Alice, Darwin Deez, The 1975 and Yorkshire favourites Pigeon Detectives.