Wolf Alice
The Clearing
COLUMBIA
Coming off their Mercury Prize–shortlisted LP Blue Weekend, Wolf Alice continue to flirt with reinvention like a weekend hobby. Evolving from the grunge-pop of 2015’s debut My Love Is Cool to the cinematic sweep of their aforementioned 2021 offering, their albums have charted both sonic expansion and internal reckoning to the extreme. Having breached the subject of coming-of-age tumult, the London quartet find transcendent and clarity on The Clearing—a timeless, yet undeniably ’70s-inspired pop-rock record that marks a new peak for contemporary rock shaped by post-tour burnout and legacy anxiety. Their ambitious fourth album is a pause in all the noise and a refreshing return to serenely emotional, sentimental ballads.
Their first album with Columbia Records following a tenure with Dirty Hit, The Clearing is a billboard for Wolf Alice’s new era in every respect. Written in the Seven Sisters district of North London (the same spot where predecessor Blue Weekend was penned), Wolf Alice teamed up with GRAMMY-winning producer Greg Kurstin in LA to get to the heart of the record. Kurstin helped polish Wolf Alice’s glistening pop aesthetic by clearing away excess grunge noise, parsing out the instrumentation to individually emphasize vocalist Ellie Rowsell’s range, guitarist Joff Oddie’s depth, percussionist Joel Amey’s urgency, and bassist Theo Ellis’ extravagance. It stands as their most well-rounded record to date, blending expansive acoustics and harmonic melodies into unified anthems confidently approaching uncertainty.
The Clearing crystallizes the band’s evolution into emotional pop-rock best experienced on festival stages and arena tours. It also showcases their musical dynamism by weaving through multiple genre influences, as blues fusion melts into surrealist electro-mechanics on “Just Two Girls,” and tender melodies sift through the operatic, striking krautrock of “White Horses.” Rowsell proves to be one of the UK’s most versatile vocalists on lead single “Bloom Baby Bloom,” shifting from feral urgency to aching tenderness as she gives voice to a longing for worth amid emotional upheaval. Even if it’s their quietest album, it feels the closest-hewed to their iconography, wading into surrender, authenticity, and peace.
While their previous albums served as showcases for commanding electrifying control in the face of identity loss, The Clearing stands apart. It offers an intimate relief from past emotional labor while complementing their ongoing evolution. Wolf Alice are creating a sense of tunnel vision for their stardom here, pushing every genre out of the way to define their own extravagant form of emotional rock music. As the band embarks on a journey toward greatness, their fourth album leaves us with something to look forward to.
