Wolf Alice

The time has come, seminal British band WOLF ALICE have now release their eagerly anticipated fourth album The Clearing.

The first moments of listening to this album are nothing short of delight. Gentle keys of a piano guiding us to seek out Ellie’s beautiful, soulful voice, and as they joined together in unity, I feel of a sense of elation coursing through my veins, hearing ‘Thorns’. As the song comes to a close, my eyes fill up and are ready to pour.

Luckily for me, ‘Bloom Baby Bloom’ is ready to haul me out of the deep emotional state the opener plunged me into. From my perspective, this song is simply nothing other than impeccable. Every single section is crafted carefully, the instrumental is dreamy but with this edge of confidence and a fearless nature.

Of ‘Bloom Baby Bloom’, Ellie said “It’s inspired by old rock bands that are almost aggressively male, but when I sing the chorus, I feel like a princess somehow.”

It’s got this fiercely, gritty nature, the style the band display in this is my favourite of Wolf Alice’s offerings, I would genuinely say this is probably one of my favourite songs they have ever made. When the band released this track back in May, they showed the entire music industry how you do a return.

‘Just Two Girls’ offers the soulful, dream-like energy found in an older track ‘Beautiful Unconventional’, but this new sound demonstrates where Wolf Alice are at now and its polish and perfection all round.

Rowsell explains, “I think I’ve been trying to figure out a lot of things, like getting older. I feel it’s really been a strange time of thinking about appearance. And these are things you hash out with your girlfriends and suddenly you don’t feel so shit about them again. I just felt like there deserved to be a song about that.”

At its core, The Clearing is a record about arrival – not at a destination, but at a sense of peace with the journey. Whether that’s the self-interrogation of ‘Thorns’, the yearning nostalgia of ‘Leaning Against The Wall’ or the raw intimacy of ‘Play It Out’, each track maps a point in the band’s evolution.

A landmark album in both concept and execution, The Clearing is less a reinvention than a recognition of the band’s full capabilities: fierce yet fragile, playful yet profound. Front and centre is Rowsell’s ever-evolving poetic storytelling alongside an innate desire for Ellie, Joff, Theo and Joel to have fun, secure in their ambition and ability at this unique moment in time.

From the rolling euphoria of ‘Bread Butter Tea Sugar’ to the assuring acceptance of ‘The Sofa’, the record captures a band unafraid to push themselves further than ever before. This is Wolf Alice fully in command – no longer searching but stepping confidently into a new chapter.

Following a packed summer of historical festival slots at Primavera Sound, the BBC Radio 1 Big Weekend and Glastonbury, the band will celebrate The Clearing with a sold out tour across North America, Europe, the UK and Ireland this autumn that sees the band headlining some of the biggest stages of their career to date.