{"id":211658,"date":"2025-12-02T16:42:15","date_gmt":"2025-12-02T16:42:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/211658\/"},"modified":"2025-12-02T16:42:15","modified_gmt":"2025-12-02T16:42:15","slug":"not-resting-on-your-laurels-is-really-exciting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/211658\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cNot resting on your laurels is really exciting\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

S<\/strong>ome artists start out chasing lofty goals, but Wolf Alice<\/a> had a simple dream when they formed in the early 2010s: to play at The Old Blue Last, a 150-capacity pub and then-centre of east London\u2019s indie scene. Over a decade later, they\u2019ve far exceeded that ambition, playing the venue on numerous occasions and ascending the ladder of British music to much grander environments. Now, they\u2019re headlining the UK\u2019s arenas<\/a>, including two nights at London\u2019s The O2 this week (December 2-3).<\/p>\n

\u201cI still feel a bit like that \u2013 this is just a bonus level!\u201d guitarist Joff Oddie replies when NME reminds them of that fantasy from long ago. When we speak, the band are in the middle of the European leg of their current tour, huddling together in front of a laptop on a black leather sofa backstage.<\/p>\n

Now feels like the right time in Wolf Alice\u2019s journey for them to take this next step up. In truth, they probably could have sold out an arena show on their third album, 2021\u2019s exquisite \u2018Blue Weekend\u2019<\/a>. Instead of rushing forward before they were ready, though, they took their time and worked for their place on bigger stages.<\/p>\n

\u201c[Doing arenas on \u2018Blue Weekend\u2019] probably would have been too early,\u201d assesses bassist Theo Ellis as his bandmates murmur in agreement. \u201cI do think it\u2019s the time now to try that kind of thing. We\u2019ve grown at the right pace. We\u2019ve done things when we\u2019ve felt comfortable doing them. We\u2019ve backed ourselves creatively and only when we feel like we could achieve and give the show that we want to give.\u201d<\/p>\n

Right now, Wolf Alice\u2019s live show is a formidable match for arenas and beyond. When they returned to the stage earlier this summer, after a three-year break from touring, it was clear they\u2019d levelled up<\/a> \u2013 frontwoman Ellie Rowsell a more exhilarating presence than ever before, and the band firing on all cylinders to make their gigs as fun, cathartic and hard-hitting as possible. It\u2019s likely, at least in part, a by-product of some of the elements behind their fourth album, August\u2019s \u2018The Clearing\u2019<\/a>, which found the four-piece settling into the calm confidence of their thirties and wanting to create a record that focused on performance.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo matter how big or small the stage is, it feels like you\u2019re part of a real show \u2013 almost like a play,\u201d Rowsell explains of her ambitions for the band\u2019s current tour. \u201cI wanted the songs to have that element of performance in the songwriting itself and the recording, rather than figuring it out afterwards or seeing how it takes shape. People are like, \u2018This is your most chilled out album\u2019, and maybe it is, but when we perform, I\u2019m like, \u2018No, this feels so different.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a challenge making this record, and it\u2019s quite challenging to play some parts of it live,\u201d Ellis adds. \u201cSo to have that element of growth and not feeling like you\u2019re resting on your laurels is really exciting. I feel like we\u2019re pushing ourselves and there\u2019s still stuff to reach when we play these songs.\u201d<\/p>\n

For some listeners, \u2018The Clearing\u2019, with its tinges of Americana and brushes of sunny Californian pop, might feel like a step into new territory for Wolf Alice. Go back through their discography, though, and you\u2019ll find throughlines to every song, showing you the evolution of a band who\u2019ve continuously moved forward and allowed themselves to try out new ideas rather than remaining beholden to a particular pocket of sounds. It is, in many ways, as Ellis notes, \u201cthe most Wolf Alice album we\u2019ve ever made\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"WolfWolf Alice\u2019s Ellie Rowsell on stage in Manchester. Credit: Harriet T K Bols<\/p>\n

The upbeat breeziness of \u2018Just Two Girls\u2019 continues Rowsell\u2019s knack for writing songs that capture the essence of female friendship, picking up the pin from early single \u2018Bros\u2019 and 2017\u2019s \u2018Beautifully Unconventional\u2019. The gorgeously lovestruck \u2018Leaning Against The Wall\u2019, meanwhile, feels like a sibling of \u2018Don\u2019t Delete The Kisses\u2019, from second album \u2018Visions Of A Life\u2019, taking on the rush of romance with a gentle dreaminess (\u201cYou put my world in slow mo \/ You put my name up in lights\u201d).<\/p>\n

\u201cLyrically, \u2018Don\u2019t Delete The Kisses\u2019 is all anxious and scared, and really stuck in reality, whereas \u2018Leaning Against The Wall\u2019 is embracing the fun, the fantasy, the cinema of love,\u201d Rowsell explains. They\u2019re a pair of songs that show not just the evolution in Wolf Alice, but in her personally: \u201cWhen I was younger, I loved watching films or reading things that were replicas of real life. Now, I find that stuff quite boring, and I want stuff that has an emphasis on magical realism.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the eight years since its release, \u2018Don\u2019t Delete The Kisses\u2019 has become something particularly special for Wolf Alice. It\u2019s gone on a slow burn to become their biggest \u2013 and perhaps most beloved \u2013 song, now the traditional spine-tingling finale of their live shows, and a moment that makes whole venues swoon. \u201cWe\u2019ve never had what some artists speak about, which is everyone waiting to hear this one thing \u2013 people who tend to come to Wolf Alice shows are really part of that world,\u201d Ellis muses. \u201cThat\u2019s been amazing, but it\u2019s still really nice to have something that binds everyone together, because there\u2019s a lot of different points that someone could come into this band. It\u2019s quite universal, so it\u2019s wicked to have it.\u201d<\/p>\n

T<\/strong>hat Wolf Alice are at a point where there are multiple entry points to the band is testament to their longevity. As they\u2019ve pointed out in interviews across the campaign for \u2018The Clearing\u2019, it\u2019s rare for a band to stick together and with the same line-up for so long (15 years for Rowsell and Oddie, 13 for Ellis and drummer Joel Amey). Ask them what the secret to growing together rather than apart is, though, and they\u2019ll collapse into jokes, riffing off each other, until Amey eventually steers the conversation back in a serious direction. \u201cI still have this inherent excitement of when I first met these guys \u2013 and why I wanted to jam with them in Scar Studios in Camden \u2013 very much alive in me,\u201d he says firmly. \u201cThat\u2019s what makes you want to keep doing it into the future.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cI still have this inherent excitement of when I first met these guys very much alive in me\u201d \u2013 Joel Amey<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u201cAnd we band around each other in a crisis quite well \u2013 more so than when things are going well,\u201d Oddie chimes in. \u201cYeah, that\u2019s why sometimes your best shows are the ones where it goes wrong, because you\u2019re like, \u2018Alright, come on guys!\u2019\u201d Rowsell adds, before Ellis deadpans: \u201cWe\u2019ve had enough of them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now well-established and with a solid foundation beneath them, the band are aware of paying forward the kindness they were shown by older bands when they were starting out \u2013 something that\u2019s been at the front of their minds while Irish newcomers Florence Road<\/a> have been supporting them in Europe. \u201cYou\u2019re aware there\u2019s a responsibility if someone\u2019s put themselves on the road for a prolonged period of time, so you want to cultivate a good and positive environment for people to be in,\u201d nods Ellis.<\/p>\n

They\u2019re also keenly aware of how much harder it is for bands starting out today, with a grassroots ecosystem under constant threat and the cost of living pricing less privileged young people out of opportunities. \u201cWe were relatively lucky in the opportunities that we got, and it would be a shame if new, younger acts didn\u2019t have the same,\u201d reflects Oddie. Wolf Alice have signed up to the LIVE Trust levy on tickets<\/a>, which contributes \u00a31 per ticket to grassroots venues. For the guitarist, though, who welcomed his first child this year, more needs to be done.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s like anything \u2013 it\u2019s money, isn\u2019t it? But in education, we need more money in schools. Music equipment is often the first thing to go when budgets are tight. I think there\u2019s also a gap at the moment around funding artists. I won\u2019t name names, but I think certain parts of advocacy groups have been very convincing about making an argument about why their part of the industry needs support, where I think artists haven\u2019t been very good at advocating for themselves. So, I would like to see an emphasis being put on maybe a pot of money or maybe more Arts Council funding to go to young acts to help them.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"WolfWolf Alice, touring member Ryan Malcolm and crew backstage in Manchester. Credit: Harriet T K Bols<\/p>\n

He notes that it\u2019s \u201cnot about throwing money away\u201d but giving artists access to opportunities that will help them grow and progress, like the PRS For Music Foundation\u2019s International Showcase Fund. Wolf Alice were a beneficiary in 2014, allowing them to perform at SXSW that year. \u201cThat was transformative because we didn\u2019t really have the money to do it at the time, but it set us on the path to more stuff like that. It\u2019s tough, and it\u2019s boring, but it\u2019s the money [that\u2019s the answer],\u201d Oddie explains.<\/p>\n

Over the years, Wolf Alice have spoken out on the issues they believe in, relating to the industry and beyond, often. They\u2019ll continue to do so as they continue on their journey of evolution, as much a part of the wider music community as they are in their own world. \u201cIt seems fucking 10 out of 10,\u201d Amey says of the landscape of acts around them right now. \u201cThere\u2019s lots of really interesting things around at the moment \u2013 I\u2019m loving just listening to new things and finding new things. I feel inspired at the moment to make some more music soon.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ask Wolf Alice what their goal is now, and they\u2019ll keep things as simple as they did back in those early days, bringing it back to the drummer\u2019s desire to create more. \u201cMore music, loads of gigs, happiness,\u201d Ellis answers, before Rowsell adds: \u201cI\u2019m really excited by what I can learn [in the studio]. Every time, it\u2019s so different, so it\u2019s like, how could I get better at the process? There\u2019s more enjoyment to be found, and I just feel really excited about that.\u201d With Wolf Alice\u2019s commitment to pushing themselves forward already proven, it\u2019s something the rest of the world should look forward to hearing the results of, too.<\/p>\n

Wolf Alice\u2019s \u2018The Clearing\u2019 is out now via Columbia Records. The band are on tour in the UK and Ireland through December 10, with international dates to follow in 2026.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Some artists start out chasing lofty goals, but Wolf Alice had a simple dream when they formed in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":211659,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[264],"tags":[18,117,19,6082,17,337],"class_list":{"0":"post-211658","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-music","8":"tag-eire","9":"tag-entertainment","10":"tag-ie","11":"tag-indie","12":"tag-ireland","13":"tag-music"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/115650976273813971","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/211658","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=211658"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/211658\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/211659"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=211658"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=211658"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=211658"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}