Wolf Alice performing at the Aberdeen Garage. August 2017. (Kayleigh Morrison / Live4ever)
With some bands a live performance is something of a foregone conclusion. That’s not to say expected is bad, it’s simply expected – Wolf Alice, however, aren’t doing the expected.
The interesting thing about this band live isn’t merely the songs, it’s the textures. This is never at any point a one-note performance, there’s always something extra happening. Wolf Alice don’t just take to the stage, play their songs and leave. Instead what you get is a considered performance, with blissful highs and powerful lows, yet always balanced throughout to keep momentum going.
Instead of hitting and hoping, they play smart and work out exactly what they can do to make their shows better. Instead of looking inward, like so many bands do, they’ve looked up and out o discover what works.
So what the audience is left with is a well executed plan which has flavours of so many other things. There’s everything from Nirvana’s vitriol to U2’s scope, and it all works. Understandably, this could make it sound a little too contrived, too slick, too rigid. This couldn’t be further from the truth.
Being organised, being professional, being good isn’t the same as contrived. And Wolf Alice are simply a band who know how to get things done. They know their audience and play up to them instinctively.
Their power and intensity is driven by Joel Amey’s incredible drumming. He manages to imbue each track with its own distinct flavour. Without him, the show wouldn’t have the same drive, the same intensity or the same excitement. With Amey, the band are able to take greater risks and be more playful. They can take it up or down instantly, which they do, and it always works.
And this is why Wolf Alice are so exciting: because they go from serene and haunting to visceral and storming instantly and naturally.
Which is only made more exciting by Ellie Rowsell’s versatile vocals. Her range and timbre are pitch perfect. At times rising with the music, at other moments cutting through it, it’s an astonishing thing to listen to.
All in all what makes tonight so exciting isn’t the songs, which everyone already knew were great before they arrived, that’s why they’re here, instead it’s the performance that makes the night.
Wolf Alice push and pull at the edges of each of their songs without tearing them apart. They don’t simply go crazy, they don’t simply play it straight. Instead, it’s a wonderfully measured and considered performance.
They know when to let loose and when to reign it in. They understand the emotional resonance of each song and how to make that hit hardest. Giving each song the space or energy they need to truly affect the audience.
Put simply it’s the show the audience wanted, craved and demanded. Whether that was balls-out rock, tentative moments or personal reflections, they’re here. The show everyone wants isn’t usually the same show, but tonight that’s exactly what it is.
Wolf Alice manage to be everything to everyone.
