TRACK REVIEW: Wolf Alice - The Last Man on Earth

TRACK REVIEW:

Wolf Alice

The Last Man on Earth

10/10

The track, The Last Man on Earth, is available from:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzH6toY_EPw

GENRES:

Alternative Rock/Indie Rock

ORIGIN:

London, U.K.

RELEASE DATE:

24th February, 2021

PRODUCER:

Markus Dravs

The album, Blue Weekend, is available to pre-order via:

https://wolfalice.co.uk/#blue-weekend

RELEASE DATE:

11th June, 2021

LABELS:

Dirty Hit/RCA

TRACKLIST:

The Beach

Delicious Things

Lipstick on the Glass

Smile

Safe from Heartbreak (if you never fall in love)

How Can Make It OK?

Play the Greatest Hits

Feeling Myself

The Last Man on Earth

No Hard Feelings

The Beach II

__________

EVEN though the song has been out…

for four days now, I was very keen to review Wolf Alice and their new single, The Last Man on Earth. It seems to be the way with artists that, if they release a track after a while, then it is a ‘return’ – even if they have been around and not really gone anywhere! In any case, it is good to have new material from Wolf Alice. They will bring out their third studio album, Blue Weekend, on 11th June. I am going to work my way to their new single, as it is quite different to anything they have put out before. Just before I get to my first point, here is some background information about one of the country’s finest bands:

“Wolf Alice are a British alternative rock band from London. Formed in 2010 as an acoustic duo comprising singer Ellie Rowsell and guitarist Joff Oddie, since 2012 Wolf Alice have also featured bassist Theo Ellis and drummer Joel Amey.

Wolf Alice released their debut single "Fluffy" in February 2013, and followed it with "Bros" in May. They released their debut EP Blush in October, and its follow-up Creature Songs in May 2014. In February 2015 the band released the lead single "Giant Peach" from their debut album My Love Is Cool, which was released in June 2015. It includes their 2014 single "Moaning Lisa Smile", which peaked at number nine on US Billboard's Alternative Songs chart in August 2015, and was nominated for the 2016 Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance.

The band released their second studio album Visions of a Life in September 2017. It debuted at number two on the UK Albums Chart, and received universal acclaim from music critics. Ranked as one of the best albums of the year by multiple publications, the album won the 2018 Mercury Prize”.

Even though people are very interested in the here and now and what is coming up for Wolf Alice, I thought it would be interesting discovering where the band came from and how they started out. I did not realise that Wolf Alice have gone through some changes before the line-up they have today. I loved their debut, My Love Is Cool (2015), so I wanted to know more about those earlier years. In an interview with Stereogum, we discover a bit more about the line-up changes and how they created quite a buzz early on:

“Over the last five years, the British quartet Wolf Alice have built up the kind of career arc that feels like the beginnings of a storied career. After a couple initial iterations, the group cohered into a lineup consisting of frontwoman Ellie Rowsell, guitarist Joff Oddie, bassist Theo Ellis, and drummer Joel Amey before launching properly with a duo of EPs and a 2015 debut that created a wildfire of buzz around the band in their native UK. That debut, My Love Is Cool, delivered on the hype: Nominated for prestigious awards like the Mercury and Ivor Novello and earning glowing reviews, Wolf Alice beat the capricious cycle common in the internet era (and infamously somewhat more common with British outlets). Sometimes an artist is built up to be torn down soon after. But Wolf Alice convinced a whole lot of people that they were the real deal, and their ascent thus far has been unwavering”.

I think there will be a documentary or a book about Wolf Alice in the future and, as a fan, I like to know how they started and why they decided to get into music. In another interview with The Guardian, we find out about those very early days and how Wolf Alice evolved from the very beginning to the excitement their singles and debut album caused:

“In fact, the band’s reach goes beyond the headbanging teenagers of the front five rows. Over the past few years, Wolf Alice have established a sizeable fanbase thanks to a near-constant stream of singles and EP releases, in which softly-spoken melodies erupt into a clamour of hammering percussion, crashing guitars and siren-like riffs. Their loud/quiet tendencies have earned them a reputation as grunge revivalists, but a truer explanation of their sound is provided by the band’s video for early single Fluffy. In it, Rowsell and guitarist Joff Oddie play a naive folky duo, who upload a breathy acoustic number dedicated to their cat on to the internet. It’s witnessed by soon-to-be bandmates Amey and Ellis, who are doing rebellious things like lighting matches and drinking milk straight from the bottle. The four join forces, everyone goes electric, and it all ends with Rowsell ceremonially smashing up a computer with a hammer.

PHOTO CREDIT: Jenn Five

And that is kind of what happened in reality. Rowsell and Oddie met in 2010, when she “wanted to try playing live but I didn’t really have the confidence to do it on my own”. She continues: “I didn’t have any friends who were in bands or even many who were into indie music.” (“Her group of friends all just went to [London dub club night] Reggae Roast,” adds Ellis, pointedly.) So Rowsell and her dad, eager to help out, started scouring internet forums where musicians showcase their skills to potential bandmates. There they found a video of Oddie playing guitar. He was at teacher-training college in south-west London, and apparently just as far from the nearest likeminded person. He admits he used to be embarrassed to have met Rowsell via the musical equivalent of a lonely hearts ad, “but so many bands back in the day put an advert in the NME,” he says.

There’s a sense of progression, which is odd for a debut album, but Wolf Alice have done their growing up in public. Not for them the snapping up and cloistering away by a record company before establishing their sound: they’ve been plugging away on the live circuit and releasing singles independently for about as long as you can get away with these days if you’re as talented as they are.

In fact, it was only last year, when the group signed an actual record deal, that things picked up enough for them to give up their day jobs. Oddie had been working as a supply teacher, Rowsell in a denim repair shop, while Ellis spent what sounds like a very confused stint working as a “mannequin”, which I eventually establish means he worked as an in-house model for a designer. “But obviously no one’s taking pictures of my face because I’m not good-looking enough,” he sighs. “It’s like modelling for the radio. It was mad demoralising.” “Secret modelling!” pile in his bandmates. “You can’t go outside!”

My Love Is Cool was a remarkable debut album. I think that Wolf Alice made leaps when it came to 2017’s follow-up, Visions of a Life. I want to source from an interview from The Independent from 2016. It is intriguing, because we get to know more about the band’s attitude to attention - Ellie Rowsell especially -, and how they reacted to losing out on the Mercury Prize for their debut album (that would be rectified soon enough when Vision of a Life won in 2018):

“Ellie Rowsell is in an interesting position right now, one common to any singer in a band in which the spotlight falls almost exclusively on the person upfront. Wolf Alice are a quartet – Joff Oddie on guitar, Theo Ellis on bass, Joel Amey on drums - but it is singer/guitarist Rowsell that receives the lion’s share of attention. Consequently, it is only she who turns up for our interview today in a deserted North London pub. She is willowy and waif-like, dressed in a pair of bright blue Levi’s and tiny white T-shirt, her eyes a luminous shade of brown Farrow & Ball would likely call honeycomb. She is sufficiently shy that eye contact is indulged in only when it cannot be avoided, and she spends most of the hour we are together working new grooves into the pub table with her thumbnail. Whenever she becomes particularly uncomfortable, she pulls at the gold necklace around her neck until it leaves red marks on her skin.

Two years ago, she was still holding down a day job in a denim repair shop, music something she played cautiously on the side. The band formed at the end of 2012, and quickly amassed a growing - and largely teenage - fanbase long before any record company was smart enough to sign them. Their album came out last summer, and entered the charts at number two. It was later nominated for a Mercury Prize. They didn’t win, but that’s okay, Rowsell insists. Like much else in her world right now, things like award nominations only make her feel awkward”.

I am curious to see how the band have shifted since Vision of a Life and what they will offer up for Blue Weekend. Even if you are successful and lauded, all artists change and undergo some form of progression. Wolf Alice will not rest of their laurels and repeat what they did on Visions of a Life. It is true that they changed their sound between My Love Is Cool in 2015 and Vision of a Life a couple of years later. We discover more about this transformation in a 2017 interview from FADER:

“In the time between albums, the band have not only become bolder as musicians, but actively used their platforms as public figures to highlight causes they care about. Together with bassist Theo Ellis, Rowsell arranged Bands 4 Refugees, a charity gig in 2016 featuring British indie bands including Swim Deep and Spector covering pop songs. This year, she also recorded a promotional video for the Labour Party, encouraging young people to register to vote in the U.K.’s snap general election, and performed at a protest against the current government on July 1. While having a breather and a beer upstairs at east London’s Fortress Studios, where the band were rehearsing their new material on a sweltering day in June, Rowsell spoke to The FADER about how she’s gradually grown into the roles of both rockstar and activist”.

I think that Wolf Alice’s success can be attributed to the fact that they are very close and are very much on the same page. I also think that having Ellie Rowsell at the front is a big factor! Not to put too much emphasis on her (at the detriment of the rest of the band), but I feel she is a phenomenal lead. I want to bring in another part of that interview from The Independent, as they spend some time providing background about Rowsell and how, even in 2016, her gender was being focused on too heavily:

“She was born and bred in north London, and attended the Camden School for Girls where, she says, “I felt guilty for not liking subjects like science.” Her parents - father a painter and decorator, mother an assistant nurse at a sexual health clinic – encouraged her to join after-school clubs in the hope that something might pique her interest. “I liked the music one,” she says. Then, at the age of 14, a friend introduced her to alternative rock. It was at this point she started to write her own songs, which tended towards the plaintive and acoustic, but by the time she discovered Nirvana and The Pixies, her songwriting had become distinctly more gutsy”.

It is perhaps symptomatic of the world in which we live that Rowsell’s gender is so often the focus in interviews with her, that by being a woman in rock – even in 2016 – she remains something of an anomaly. But the fact is, she is. At Glastonbury this weekend, appearing alongside Adele and Ellie Goulding, her only true female peer will be PJ Harvey.

“I often wonder why girls who do get into music tend to be just singers, or else play the piano,” she says. “And if they do pull on a guitar, why is it more likely to be the bass? Why not lead?”.

Not to do a complete history of Wolf Alice from start to now, but I need to spend some time with Visions of a Life before I come to their latest track. That album was rightfully celebrated; a stunning release from a band who kept on growing stronger and stronger. In the Stereogum interview, Ellie Rowsell and Joel Amey discussed sonic and emotional changes between My Love Is Cool and Visions of a Life.

“STEREOGUM: When Visions Of A Life was coming out, there was some talk of it being a darker album, whether it was getting older and running into some heavy topics, or being on the road and kind of coming in and out of people’s lives, that weird isolation that can also come with being on tour. So now that you took all those experiences and compressed it into an album, then put it out into the world to good reception, are those anxieties and existential questions resolved at all? Or is it weird to revisit it on tour once more, singing the songs every night?

ROWSELL: I do believe I have a better understanding of those anxieties for sure. I guess they haven’t gone away.

AMEY: I always live through Ellie’s lyrics onstage as well. There’s an element of every performance you do, you go into the zone of that song. Maybe it has been resolved in the outside world. But onstage that’s the moment, that’s the thing you’re in, and you have to get back into that zone”.

STEREOGUM: There’s a lot of small stylistic modulation across Visions Of A Life, little touches of heavier, grungier things and then almost dream-pop. Does that come from individual members writing to their own interests? Or all of you experimenting together?

AMEY: I guess a bit of both. We do all come from very different backgrounds and tastes. There are certain things maybe two of us appreciate and two of us can’t stand. After this bit of touring I’m excited to go back into music and ingest as much as I can. Pop or metal, whatever … from that you do take on these little touch points and when you’re playing with a guitar or keyboard, then you pull it all together and those things come together as one. You see the different bits that compliment each other.

PHOTO CREDIT: Helen Boast

I want to take things away from albums as a whole and home in on Wolf Alice and their attachment to politics. It can be risky for some artists to discuss politics, as they feel it would divide fans and cause upset. For Wolf Alice, it is very important to explore politics and address injustices. Going back to that interview with FADER from 2017…they were asked about how they found America and coped with the unrest there:

“You recorded Visions of a Life in America. What was it like living there and seeing the political situation?

It was really weird. We were there for such a long time. Los Angeles is very different to the rest of America. It’s liberal there, and all the people I met hate Trump, so it’s not like being in the middle of America. But it was kind of inspiring: the day we got there was the day of the massive Women’s March, and then the following [week] was the big [Muslim ban] protest outside LAX, when people were being kept in detention in the airports. It was horrible, but it was a good atmosphere in the sense that [it] felt like people wanted change there. It wasn’t like we succumbed to this shit deal that we’d all got. We came home [to the U.K.] and it was kind of the same feeling. So, we’re not alone: we’ve got some shit deals, but I don’t think people are standing for it.

The U.K election recently showed a surge in support for Labour. Lots of young people voted, inspired by musicians like you rallying around Jeremy Corbyn. Do you think it’s important for artists to be political today?

Yeah, I really do. I always have thought this, but I didn’t think it was necessary; I thought it was really cool if you did. You do have to have a certain level of confidence that you know what you’re talking about. But you’re never going to know everything. I don’t know the ins and outs of economics, but I’m pretty sure I know it’s clear that [the choice between Conservatives and Labour] is between justice and injustice in some cases. If you’re embarrassed about what you don’t know — it’s too urgent at the moment to stay embarrassed.

With distrust of the media, which is absolutely valid, it’s more important than ever [to speak up]...I look towards Akala and Lily Allen, that’s what my media source is now. When something happens, I go and see what Akala says about it. If anyone else does that, and you are that person’s Akala, then you should absolutely be clued up on what’s going on as much as you can be. Just start now. It’s better late than never”.

To stay on the political theme, I think we may see a lot of political commentary on the forthcoming Blue Weekend – what with everything that has happened in the world lately, it would be hard to avoid it. I admire the fact Wolf Alice tackle politics through their music and interviews. When they spoke with NME, we discover why Wolf Alice are not only interested in political developments in this country:

“In the last couple of years, Wolf Alice have become increasingly vocal about their political beliefs. Before last year’s general election, Ellie appeared in a video encouraging people to vote for Labour, while the band have appeared at rallies for the party and performed at a march protesting the Tories alignment with the DUP. Despite the context of the latter, their involvement has always felt quite hopeful, if urgent. Now, with Britain’s impending exit from the EU looming and the whole thing a mess, that optimism has waned.

“I think it’s an impossible position for literally everyone,” says Joff, stirring from the corner of the room where he’s stayed mostly quiet until now. “Labour need to be so careful cos if they come out and go, ‘No, we need a second referendum’, they’re gonna lose all the traditional Labour seats – a lot of their seats are in largely regional areas where a lot of the voters were leavers. So you’re telling those people they were wrong and that’s like a betrayal of them. I don’t think there’s a best case scenario.”

The band might have publicly supported Jeremy Corbyn in the past but they don’t want to be mistaken for fanatical champions of his. “I’m behind the Labour Party,” Joff says, making the distinction between leader and the collective he represents. “I don’t believe in everything Corbyn does. They’ve got a great manifesto. We responded to that. If we focus too much on political leaders we’re gonna get Boris Johnson in.”

The band aren’t just interested in political situations close to home. They had already decided a few years ago to not play in Israel while the conflict between it and Palestine was ongoing but had never spoken about it outside of the group before. Then, scores of people were killed in one day. “It felt like it was becoming so hopeless and so ridiculous,” explains Joff. “People in the media weren’t talking about it – not that we made a huge dent but if 100 people or 50 people looked at the Facebook post and it made them have a look [into the situation] then that was the right thing to do.”

The group have faced some backlash for being vocal about the conflict, but have found a section of people wanting to engage in debate rather than just bash them for not staying in their lane. It’s something they’ve welcomed, as Theo explains: “To say you’re completely rounded and know everything about a subject isn’t right so it’s always interesting to have your mind broadened by interesting countering opinions. That’s a good aspect of social media – maybe you’ll go back and think about it and consider things you hadn’t thought of before”.

There are a few things I want to tick off before reviewing The Last Man on Earth. I have quoted from an interview where Wolf Alice seemed a bit uneasy about award recognition and being thrust into the spotlight. That was unavoidable in 2018 when they won the Mercury Prize. I will mention that in a bit but, also in 2018, they were nominated at the BRIT Awards. Ellie Rowsell spoke with The Standard and observed how it was strange that the band were being seen as older/established after such a short time:

“That step-up in their UK fortunes is one reason Wolf Alice are this year nominated in the Brits’ British Group category. They’re duking it out with Gorillaz, London Grammar, Royal Blood and The xx. It’s an all-London bout, if we claim Royal Blood’s Brighton base as the capital-on-sea and ignore for a second what Ellis describes as Gorillaz’s “700 members” and focus on east London-born, Notting Hill-domiciled leader Damon Albarn.

“I find this year’s Brits weirder than the first time round,” admits Rowsell. A commanding, whirling, vocally stunning presence onstage, she’s nervy off it (in interviews, at least). So much so that she occasionally stutters between syllables. “When it was about being that breakthrough act and finding your feet and the buzz about you as a new band…” she tails off.

“To think we’re now in a position where we’re perceived as one of the older, established bands,” chips in Ellis, who’s accompanying her on interview duties (guitarist Joff Oddie and drummer Joel Amey are hiding in their dressing room). “I mean, Gorillaz! I bought their first album and wrote the lyrics out”.

I have two more points to address before the song review itself. Some artists fade after a Mercury Prize win, whereas others gain strength and focus. It can be quite daunting. Now Wolf Alice Are not underground and have a certain amount of expectation on their shoulders, it will be interesting seeing what they produce on Blue Weekend – will they get three Mercury Prize nominations in a row?! Circling back to the NME interview, and Wolf Alice reflected on their Mercury Prize win:

“Have you noticed any impact on the band or anything changing since you won the Mercury?

Theo: “The immediate sensation on social media and the fact you’re on the actual news the next day is quite overwhelming. Obviously, it was so unbelievable for starters cos it was so bonkers and surreal. Then there’s the next day when you’re a bit like, ‘Oh my god’ and we also had to fly to Australia. In terms of effects on our career, it came late to us with this album. We’ll probably notice it more [on the next album]. I had a lot of texts from people I didn’t expect.”
Ellie: “That was the most texts I’ve ever gotten.”
Theo: “Yeah, same. So it’s worth it to get the most texts you’ve ever gotten. I just felt really popular.”

What was the moment when your name was announced like?

Ellie: “When things that are unbelievable happen to you, it’s almost like it doesn’t count cos it doesn’t feel real.”

Theo: “I’d just drunk so much by the time it happened. That annoyed me. I was like, ‘Fuck, I’m not digesting this properly!’ But when something’s so intense emotionally you go into auto-pilot, don’t you? Just chat shit. That’s what I did”.

PHOTO CREDIT: Getty Images

Maybe a little off-topic, but I want to end this section by mentioning a band who are important To Wolf Alice. Not only do they cite Muse as an influence, but the U.S. giants, Queens of the Stone Age, are big to them. Once more to the NME interview, where we learn why Queens of the Stone Age are a key influence:

“QOTSA were an important band for all four members of Wolf Alice, but especially for Theo, who has the two-pronged fork from the cover of ‘Songs For The Deaf’ inked on his arm. While on tour with his heroes, he spoke to Josh about the tattoo, who “said something really cool” that Theo can no longer remember because he was “fucked off my face”, presumably on that aforementioned tequila. One thing he can remember – letting off “a sword-based firework in the presence of Josh Homme,” which means the bassist “could die now.” “It was called Excalibur and it was sick,” he informs us.

Wolf Alice might have a reputation for being able to party but they pale in comparison to veterans like Queens. They first met Josh at the first tour date in Austin, where he greeted them with shots. The band would party inside Wolf Al’s dressing room often, “inside their own party world.” “They can drink more tequila than anyone ever, I reckon,” Theo assesses as the rest of the band marvel at their ability to then go and outplay everyone too.

“They’re superhuman,” Joel notes. Ellie, curled up across the room, has another view: “Or we’re just massive pussies…”.

Before The Last Man on Earth dropped to the ground this week, the band’s last single was 2018’s Space & Time (that was the final release from Visions of a Life). We know what the tracklist is for Blue Weekend. It makes for interesting reading. It is hard to glean what the songs will focus on and whether there is a more political or personal bent. The arrival of a new track is very exciting indeed! Pitchfork were among many who delivered the news this week:

“Wolf Alice have announced a new album, sharing a single along with it. “Last Man on Earth” is the first offering from the band’s next record, Blue Weekend, which arrives on June 11 (via Dirty Hit/RCA). Watch a video for “Last Man on Earth” directed by Jordan Hemingway below.

Lead singer Ellie Rowsell shared a brief statement about “Last Man on Earth”:

It’s about the arrogance of humans. I’d just read Kurt Vonnegut’s Cat’s Cradle and I had written the line “Peculiar travel suggestions are dancing lessons from god” in my notes. But then I thought: “Uh, your peculiar travel suggestion isn’t a dancing lesson from god, it’s just a travel suggestion! Why does everything need to mean something more?”.

Compared to some of the harder and fiercer sounds we heard on Visions of a Life, The Last Man on Earth begins as a very soft and beautiful track. It opens with tender piano notes. I think Ellie Rowsell has a remarkably dexterous voice and she can convey so many different emotions! On the delicate and breathy The Last Man on Earth, she provides one of her most affecting and impressive performances. The first verse definitely got me thinking: “Who were you to ask for anything more?/Do you wait for your dancing lessons to be sent from God?/You'd like his light to shine on you/You've really missed a trick when it comes to love/Always seeking what you don't have, like what you do ain't enough/You'd like a light to shine on you”. We get some lighter, trickling piano notes that entwine around the darker and heavier tones. I love how Rowsell whispers “You'd like his light to shine on you”. The lyrics are phenomenal. One cannot help but to be struck by the vocal and picture what is being sung. Like I say with many songs, I am not sure whether this is based on a real relationship and something that is happening in Rowsell’s life. The imagery is beautiful and fascinating; the vocal is arresting and gorgeous.

PHOTO CREDIT: Theo Ellis

There is a change in vocal tone in the chorus. Whereas the first verse was breathy - and we could hear Rowsell’s smokier side -, there is a sweeter and bigger vocal for the chorus. It is like a shift in temperature and weather to something lighter and brighter. I do like how there is the evolution between lines - and it provides The Last Man on Earth with so much nuance and appeal. The chorus is another beautiful example of Wolf Alice’s writing: “And every book you take/And you dust off from the shelf/Has lines between lines between lines/That you read about yourself/But does a light shine on you?/And when your friends are talking/You hardly hear a word/You were the first person herе/And the last man on the Earth/But does a light shinе on you?”. Rowsell’s voice is tracked so that we get this choral effect and ethereal aspect. It is a shivering and spine-tingling sound that sweeps you up. In the chorus, we get some philosophy and theology in addition to obliqueness and images of dusty books being plucked from shelves. If one was looking for something raw and direct on this ‘return’ from Wolf Alice then they might be disappointed at this juncture. You only need to listen to the song for a few seconds to hear how stunning it is and, like we have already seen from Wolf Alice, this is just another evolution. There is a nice quiet-loud dynamic in the verse which sees Rowsell raise her voice for “And when your friends are talking/You hardly hear a word”; she then whispers the next couple of lines. The comparative lack of the remainder of the band on this song does not signal how the rest of Blue Weekend will sound – sort of like Paul McCartney being the only Beatle on Yesterday! It is a beautiful song that puts Rowsell at the front without too much musical intrusion. The piano is the perfect accompaniment. I think that any other layers up to this moment would taint the impact and grace of the words. It is amazing thinking how many sides and tones Rowsell can produce! I think she provides one of the finest vocal performances of the band’s career on The Last Man on Earth.

PHOTO CREDIT: Jordan Hemingway

Rowsell asks for humility and reason when she delivers these lines: “Who are you to ask for anything else?/The thing you should be asking is for help/You'd like a light to shine on you”. I sort of mislead people when I inferred that The Last Man on Earth is just Rowsell in the mix. Just when you think you have the song figured, we get this immediate and passionate change from the line, “The thing you should be asking is for help”. There is a nice echoing vocal and percussion which gives the track additional weight, heat and passion! The band are fully in the mix and, with the vocals chorusing and providing this heavenly sound and huge sense of wonder, you are caught off guard and moved! It is an unexpected moment and one that is absolutely staggering. The bridge of “Let it shine on you/Let it shine on you” is almost gospel-like in its power and meaning! I was wondering about the religious imagery and mentions through the songs. Maybe this person feels they are God-like or beyond reproach. I got the impression that, early on, Rowsell was judging someone or taking them to task. Now, it is almost like she is offering a prayer or summoning light from the heavens. I have gone back through the song a few times and I love how it changes in such a big way! After the rapturous and almost biblical parting of the waves, the song changes course once more. There is a liquid and funkier passage before the final verse. From the opening phases which then lead to this gospel sound, we get a transition of Funk that then leads to something more in the way of an Alternative Rock flavour to the end.

The band keep things quite intense and emotive to the end. Once more, the lyrics are amazing: “A penny for your truth/But I hedge my bets on wealth/'Cause it's lies after lies after lies/But do you even fool yourself/And then the light shines on you/And when your friends are talking/You hardly hear a word/You were the first person here/And the last man on the Earth/But the light”. After the rush of the storm and the wild wind, The Last Man on Earth finishes with that memorable and beautiful piano. I have not even mentioned the video for the track. It is a black-and-white video where we see Ellie Rowsell in this gothic setting. We get fast cuts and flashes (close-ups on her eyes) together with images of her layered on top of one another. It is dreamy and filmic, but there is also a slightly trippy element. I have not seen another Wolf Alice video like it! When we hear the crescendo, Roswell is backed by candles and fire raging in the background. Directed by Jordan Hemingway, it is a credit that the video is almost as memorable and phenomenal as the song. If Blue Weekend contains songs even half as good as The Last Man on Earth, then it is going to be another sensational, award-winning release from Wolf Alice! Even though it is still February, I think that The Last Man on Earth is my favourite track of the year – one that is not going to be beaten anytime soon!

PHOTO CREDIT: Giles Smith

I will wrap things up soon. First, I want to nod back to the 2018 Stereogum interview from earlier. The band were asked about a third album and expectations. Now that a third album has been announced, it makes for fascinating reading;

“STEREOGUM: I don’t want to give you too much anxiety by bringing up the third album, but now having gotten past this stereotypical sophomore narrative thing, beating the potentially destructive hype cycles, do you have a sense of where you want to take Wolf Alice next? Are you having ideas on the road the same as you did before?

ROWSELL: I’m always torn, because I like performing and touring heavy guitar-based music. And yet I find myself at home often just listening to pop music. Which is probably why we’re too pop for rock and too rock for pop. I never know which one’s going to pull me farthest in one direction”.

I am sure that we will see at least another couple of singles from Blue Weekend before the album comes out on 11th June. There has been so much positive reception to The Last Man on Earth. Although the song is not a radical departure from the London band, it is quite different from anything on Visions of a Life. I wouldn’t bank against Blue Weekend earning Wolf Alice their third Mercury Prize nomination in as many albums. That might not be the most important thing to them, though it goes to show the quality that has been there from the very start! The Last Man of Earth is a stunning first single release; a great example of what we might get from Blue Weekend. One of our very finest bands continue to blow people away and produce music of the highest order! I feel they will be able to deliver some tour dates later in the year and showcase new material. It will give them a chance to air their album on the stage and prove why they are one of the best live bands around. Before that comes the hotly-anticipated Blue Weekend. It is an album that I…