Wolf Alice - "My Love Is Cool"

  

Fresh from their triumphant set at Glastonbury, the debut album from Wolf Alice is our record of the week. 

It's hard to place Wolf Alice, which is perhaps why they've garnered the attention they have. If you want to hear grunge influences, you'll pick it out of 'Moaning Lisa Smile'. If you want to hear Cranberries style pop rock, you'll find it in 'Your Loves Whore'. If you want to hear jarring Sleater-Kinney informed post punk you'll find it in 'Fluffy' - the album turns itself over to whoever listens to it, and each person will gain something different.

Now, usually saying things like that makes a reviewer turn around and say the problem is it doesn't match. Well, these guys do, and each track that borrows from something new retains a very Wolf Alice identity. It takes a hell of a strong band to keep that focus and, for want of a better word, branding through an entire album that tries to do so many things. For example, fellow grunge informed wailers Palma Violets took some pretty similar influences and ended up sounding like a horrible pastiche of everything they've tried - Wolf Alice make their sound work for them.

There's no denying Wolf Alice's ear for a hook and a catchy melody. From the opening track, the meandering, almost Alela Diane sounding 'Turn To Dust' to their staple juttering garage single 'Fluffy' to close, they provide us with as many earworms as there are minutes on the album.

Click here to purchase the album from Amazon. 

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