When a mysterious man going by the name of ‘Cheek’, promises you a link to the new Wolf Alice album, it’s a bit like a man appearing on your doorstep in the dead of night, reaching into his trench coat. In that moment, it hits you that he could be holding a gun rather than the desired CD. Fortunately, Mr. Cheek just has an unfortunate name.
The Clearing is Wolf Alice’s fourth studio album, and it goes against everything people perceive the North London four-piece to be. It is them at their most sonically adventurous as they explore new genres. For instance, in ‘Leaning Against The Wall’, the use of an acoustic guitar gives the song a country feel. While ‘White Horses’ sounds celtic, especially due to the guitar and Ellie Rowsell’s vocal style. Unlike other Wolf Alice songs, drummer Joel Amey sings on the verses which is an exciting new direction that I hope they pursue in future albums. The finger style picking on ‘Midnight Song’ is almost harp-like, while the vocals are reminiscent of hearing a choir’s voice echo around a church. There are also clever uses of sound, such as the background chatter on ‘Leaning Against The Wall’ setting the scene of the party Rowsell is singing about. The next track, ‘Passenger Seat’ begins with the sound of someone getting in a car, while on a transition between the verse and the chorus, Rowsell sings along as the song seems to play through a car stereo. ‘Bread Butter Tea Sugar’ is the most similar to the band’s prior releases. It has a playful bridge with a great guitar solo which ends with a piano glissando. Sonically, the album is like a cousin to Rumours Fleetwood Mac.
The lyrics match the rich quality of the music. It is an album of intimate moments whether it is the sanctuary found at the back of a party, listening to somebody play an instrument to you or sitting in the passenger seat of somebody’s car. In ‘Play it Out’, Rowsell contemplates getting older. Lyrics such as ‘when my body can no longer make a mother of me’ are contrasted with the piano which is almost lullaby-like. In the opening track ‘Thorn’, Rowsell contemplates her feelings about making songs inspired by her relationships. Although there are many songs which have a similar lyrical theme, the instruments add so much depth to the track with it being piano focused and having beautiful violin accompaniment. ‘Just Two Girls’ has tongue in cheek lyrics that seem to comment on how sapphic relationships are sometimes mistaken as two girls just being close friends. It is similar to the pop sounding single ‘The Sofa.’ Despite my scepticism, ‘The Sofa’ does fit with the rest of the songs on the album as it acts as a summary of the themes.
The Clearing is like stumbling out of a forest and onto a vast view where the sun rises in an exciting new direction. Wolf Alice has certainly proven themselves to be one of the most exciting British bands out there right now.
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