Wolf Alice have had an extraordinary year. From headlining at Latitude to releasing their third album Blue Weekend to widespread acclaim, the London-based four-piece have staked their claim at the forefront of British rock.
With all this success, you might think that the band would be flung into stardom, heads in the clouds and detached from reality. But this couldn’t be further from the truth. As I spoke to Joff and Theo, Wolf Alice’s guitarist and bassist respectively, I learnt about two of the most grounded people in music and the challenges that the last 18 months have presented them with.
So how do you go about forging a masterpiece of an album in the midst of a global pandemic?
“I think the process of the album was, in a good way, quite difficult and then coronavirus happened, and I don’t know if any of us knew what was going to happen for quite a lot of the last year,” starts Theo, speaking from a white kitchen, matching perfectly with his white jumper and bleached hair. “But I think that’s been universal, hasn’t it? I think everyone was a bit anxious about what was to come but we’ve been so lucky.”
This alludes to the lockdowns that marred the recording process of Blue Weekend, although as Theo continued, they may have been a blessing in disguise.
“It affords you more time, and I think the album needed more time when that was going on around it. So, I think the details [were] totally a massive thing that was brought on by coronavirus in a good way for us, because all you can do is just beat that out. In a bad and good way, because it can drive you a bit crazy. Feels like you’re in ‘The Shining’ because you’re just in one place all the time”
All work and no play haven’t seemed to have any effect on the dynamics of the band though, with Theo and Joff regularly making jokes to each other throughout the interview and it’s something I think they’re particularly proud of:
“The thing I’ve observed in the past and said I am very, very grateful for, eternally grateful for, is as a group of people I think nothing brings Wolf Alice closer together than when either things are going badly, or something has happened,” chuckles Joff. “We’re really, really good at banding around each other and going ‘Oh well this is weird, or this is bad’ or whatever there may be. We were so grateful of everyone supporting me through that process, and I hope the others could feel like I’ve supported them through it as well.”
And that seems to be a running theme throughout our chat: thankfulness for their success, but also a defiant refusal to get caught up in it all. They both seem to have a complete sense of self; they know who they are and what Wolf Alice is, as well as a stoicism and confidence to stay true to that.
When quizzed about the pressures of trying to top their first two albums, this self-confidence is evident in Joff’s answer: “I think the most important pressure really just comes from yourself wanting to make something that’s good. So, you really need to just focus on ‘Okay, let’s make the best set of songs that we can,’ and make 11 songs that we would be happy to listen to ourselves.”
And these 11 are the most diverse set of songs that Wolf Alice have ever put out. The singles released range from the mellow piano ballad ‘The Last Man On Earth’ to the pure rock of ‘Smile’, something which both Theo and Joff wanted to highlight in their single choices.
“When ‘The Last Man On Earth’ was sent around as a demo, we all had a very special connection to it instantly,” Theo tells me. “We thought this felt like a step in a new direction for us … and if we were to have put ‘Smile’ in ahead of that, it would be maybe the obvious thing to do. But because everyone was behind us to go with ‘The Last Man On Earth’ as the lead single, and I think, and it does sound very romantic to say, it was really important to have that as the first thing that people heard from the album.”
Joff then continues: “I think we were keen to say to people ‘Look the rock thing is just one aspect of Wolf Alice’, for those people who may not have had an introduction to the other stuff. It’s about saying ‘Look come in, come join the party! There’s more here than just heavy rock tunes’ and then obviously following that with just a heavy rock tune”.
The release of a new album comes hand in hand with the prospect of touring. With trial status guaranteeing the return of certain festivals, Wolf Alice were able to make their headliner debut at Latitude Festival in Suffolk and return to what they love most: gigging.
“[It was] amazing!” Grins Theo. “The night before we did a warm-up show in Bournemouth. That was so special. I think it’s kind of magnified how much we miss things like that. I was like ‘Wow, this feels so unique’ which it was cos it was like two days after fucking Freedom Day. And then Latitude was obviously momentous, not only because it was our biggest headline to date, it was everyone together in a field, and it was just so many different things that compounded into a very emotional experience.”
Wolf Alice have also taken time during lockdown to add more elements to their live performances: adding synth player Ryan Malcom to their touring ensemble, as Joff spoke about his impact on their performances.
“For a long time, me and Theo were taking up a lot of slack trying to do keyboard parts at the same time as playing our instruments and triggering things with our feet and stuff, and we could play completely live, we always have done. We don’t play to backing tracks or clicks or whatever, so it’s been great to get somebody in to take some of the slack off us, to allow us to perform and to add just layers of stuff that we wouldn’t be able to anyway. Because the recordings of all of our records are pretty dense so to add layers, to go back to the old songs and to do that was amazing. And he’s a really talented keys player, very talented vocalist and he’s just a really nice bloke and it’s so nice to have [him] on board.”
And it looks as though Ryan will be heading with Joff, Theo and the rest of the band on their UK tour early in 2022, which passes through Sheffield. I asked if he had good memories playing in the Steel City and Joff, fittingly sitting in front of his bookcase, displayed an encyclopaedic knowledge of every show Wolf Alice has ever played here.
“We’ve had some great ones haven’t we? Like Tramlines was a really, really early out-of-London gig, we did the Gatsby and that one was just feedback that whole time. The Leadmill we’ve played a bunch of times haven’t we? And I think we did a really fun show. I remember one of the funnest things: we had Drenge support us in the big room and Drenge are a Sheffield band, and the lead singer came out with us and played ‘Moaning Lisa Smile’ so that was quite fun. Yeah, supporting The ’75 [The 1975] in the Academy when we were really little. Yeah we’ve had some really great times there but I really do love Sheffield, such a wicked city”
Theo then got in on the chat with how the northern crowds differ.
“I think people know how to party a little bit better any night of the week the further north you get. I think Yorkshire generally is quite good but these places are unique to different experiences in different cities. But on UK tours, generally like there’s a base level of a good time, so it’s like a treat for us cos even before coronavirus, we didn’t do too many of them. Being from the UK, it feels more momentous just because it’s places that you’ve seen in videos or things that you’ve consumed as you’ve grown up and everywhere is different but up north can be an absolute riot sometimes and I hope it will be in January as well.”
Wolf Alice will be playing the O2 Academy in Sheffield on the 14th of January 2022.
