The success of Wolf Alice’s debut album ‘My Love Is cool’ which charted at number 2 meant that there was a lot of expectations surrounding their follow up album ‘Visions of a Life’ which was released on September 29th.
As the opening song ‘Heavenward’, which was released as a single on the 18th September, begins it gives a calm, serene almost peaceful vibe which is quickly replaced by the start-up of the drums and then lead singer Ellie Rowsell’s distinctive voice. It is a great song to open the album being almost five minutes long (the longest song on the album), and leads perfectly on to ‘Yuk Foo’, the first single they released off the album.
‘Yuk Foo’ is much more punk rock and aggressive than the opening song and picks up the pace and the energy. It feels very hectic and having seen Wolf Alice perform live at their secret set at Reading festival this year I can say that it is even more hectic live. Although, when someone pointed out that the singing towards the end of the song sounds slightly like Ellie is about to sneeze, I now can’t take much after the last chorus seriously.
The third song on the album is my favourite because ‘Beautifully Unconventional’ is very catchy and easy to sing along to whilst still bringing across the characteristic rebellion and angst that Wolf Alice are associated with. This is the type of song that would get you moving and I can imagine would be very motivating if you needed it.
Highlights of the rest of the album include ‘Sky Musings’ which has an electric synth sound to it, as well as ‘Formidable Cool’ which tells the story of a girl falling for a man who is using fear to control and dominate her. It certainly is interesting to listen to!
The album ends with ‘After the zero hour’ which is a melancholic sounding song with positive lyrics about the excitement of life and the future. It leaves the listener with a sense of fulfilment, especially after listening to the full album before, and possibly hints to more exciting things in Wolf Alice’s future as an ever-developing band.
Overall, the album is a mixture of unique sounding songs which do well to display the versatility and adaptability of Wolf Alice and to highlight their creativeness as a band. They have managed to bring something new and different out without losing sight of their desire to challenge society. Wolf Alice are currently on a world tour promoting the album which includes a sold-out night at Rock City on November 15th as well as their biggest headline show to date at London’s Alexandra Palace on November 24th and I would highly recommend anybody that can do, to go and see them.
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