I often ask myself how far is to far too attend live music. Is a three and half hour round trip to Liverpool on a Monday night to see a one hour set maybe verging on being a little too much? But when the attraction is Wolf Alice, a band going from strength to strength those hours on the M62 seemed like a small price to pay to witness their seismic live performance. With a masterful launch campaign for album number four The Clearing under their belts the buzz around the band feels stronger than ever, so it was no surprise to see the queues at Camp and Furnace building up long before doors opened. With an arena tour scheduled later in the year there was a sense that these album launch shows could be the final opportunities for the lucky attendees to see the band at a venue that could have the adjective intimate linked to it.
Striding on stage full of confidence the band jumped straight into the irresistible swagger of Formidable Cool, followed by Smile and Delicious Things, in some ways it seemed strange to kick off an album launch show with three ‘oldies’ (no matter how brilliant they were). However, with the new album cutting out much of the band’s snarl in favour of mellower material, starting off with older, heavier songs was successful in raising the already fervent atmosphere through the roof. That said the renditions of Passenger Seat and White Horses showed added bite compared to the recorded versions, with the reception of the latter suggesting it was already firmly established itself as a fan favourite.
Watching singer Ellie Roswell on stage you can’t help but feel you’re witnessing her ascension into one of the great band leaders of the current era. It was almost impossible to take my eyes off her as she relived every word of the lyrics, every ounce of pain and indecision she’s committed to record still raw, drawing the listener into her world without ever revealing her full secrets. And that’s before considering her skill and versatility as a vocalist, able to switch between singing like an angel to howling like a banshee in an instant, every line drenched in emotion and nuance. New songs like Two Girls and Sofa managed to perfectly encapsulate so much of her talents, that despite being perfectly crafted singalongs you didn’t want to sing along for fear of blocking out her perfect delivery.
Whilst Ellie may be the centre piece of the group, the rest of the band provide an incredibly solid musical foundation for her to launch from. Nowhere was this more clearly demonstrated than in Bloom Baby Bloom (surely a strong contender for 2025’s eventual song of the year awards), with the tribal drumming and deft musical turns holding together the varied parts of the song that feel like they shouldn’t work together, yet somehow have been woven together with some unseen musical magic. And somehow the live performance the song took on an even more maniacal feeling than what had been put together in the recorded studio.
The only very minor criticism of the show was that with a second performance due afterwards it felt that at times the band were holding back slightly, but even at 95% Wolf Alice put in a performance that other bands could only dream of. Rapturously received renditions of Don’t Delete the Kisses and Giant Peach saw the evening come to a rousing end and I’m sure leaving plenty of the audience wondering if it was possible somehow to sneak back into the later show. It’s always a joy to see a band in their imperial phase, when they reach for the stars and manage to grab them and that’s the position Wolf Alice are in right now.
Were you at the show at Camp and Furnace? Have you seen Wolf Alice as they unleash The Clearing on the world? Don’t forget to leave a comment below.
Wolf Alice performed:
Formidable Cool
Smile
Delicious Things
Passenger Seat
Bloom Baby Bloom
Just Two Girls
Bros
Safe in the World
How Can I Make It OK?
Lisbon
White Horses
Thorns
Don’t Delete the Kisses
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The Sofa
Giant Peach
Alex Reviews Gigs 
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