That’s it with indie: Wolf Alice left her label Dirty Hit, with whom you made three albums with which the indie rock band grew bigger and bigger. At a time when it is no longer a sure-fire success that British indie rock bands grow into a global phenomenon. Now you have found your new home at the major, and front woman Ellie Roswell can finally do her mutation into a recipient of Stevie Nicks, crossed with the theatrical of Siouxsie Sioux or Axl Rose.
Recommendations of the editorial team
So it only makes sense that the album was recorded in Los Angeles this time, not only spiritual at home for many of the band’s role models. This is rock, without indie and not just for small stages, but in capital letters and made for the mainstage, namely to prime time. If you want to know how it all sounds together in a single song, you look forward to the brilliant “Bloom Baby Bloom”.
The band can still tender, such as in the intensive “Leasing Against The Wall”, which surprises with tripphop elements. At The Clearing, Wolf Alice show her ambitions without any shyness, this band wants nothing less than the whole cake. And why not? In a fair world, the time would be ripe for Wolf Alice’s rule over any festival and stadium stages. Because despite the moves in the mainstream, the band still stays pleasantly surprising and angular.
This review first appeared in the MusikExpress 09/2025.