Blue Weekend by Wolf Alice

The last time I wrote about Wolf Alice, they were coming in hot. Their debut album, My Love is Cool, had come out in 2015, and I loved it so much it ended up at #3 that year. My love for them waned over the coming years. Their 2017 sophomore release, Visions of a Life, didn’t connect with me at all, and I can’t tell you the last time I listened to Cool. I’d pretty much written them off. So much so, I didn’t think anything of it when they released a new album in June. But then I started hearing their new songs pop up in unexpected places, and my interest was — thankfully — renewed.

Blue Weekend is not the Wolf Alice of old. If you liked their previous albums, you’ll hear the same foursome still playing the same instruments: lead singer Ellie Rowsell, guitarist Joff Oddie, bassist Theo Ellis, and drummer Joel Amey. But their songwriting and structure have grown much deeper in the 6 years that have passed since their debut. There are significant builds (check out the video for the first song on the album, “The Beach,” above), quieter spots, and everything in between. Every song doesn’t have to slay. And while the music is lush and distorted, the production is spot on. This is the music of a band who’ve had a decade’s worth of practice to really dial it all in.

The album is solid from start to finish. Typical for today, you can listen to the whole thing on YouTube. But Wolf Alice took it a step further, creating a video for each song, all of which string together into a single 40 minute short film. I had a tough time picking which song to feature at the top of the post. I landed on the first song as the beginning felt like a good place to start. Feel free to pop into any of the other songs on the album, or do like I did and watch the whole thing start to finish. It’s worth it.

The Beach (shown above)
Delicious Things
Lipstick on the Glass
Smile
Safe From Heartbreak (if you never fall in love)
How Can I Make It Ok?
Play the Greatest Hits
Feeling Myself
The Last Man on Earth
No Hard Feelings
The Beach II

Here’s to another decade of Wolf Alice. They’re back on track for me, and perhaps they never left for some of you. Either way, I’m excited by their new music, and I’ve got my fingers crossed that they continue well into the future.

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22. Mr. Corman: Season 1 by Nathan Johnson
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29. A Beginner’s Mind by Sufjan Stevens and Angelo De Augustine
30. Where the End Begins by Knathan Ryan
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Full Album
All albums in their entirety.

Radio Station
A single song selection pulled from each album.

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