Wolf Alice kicked off their first UK arena tour at the AO Arena in Manchester, which was the biggest venue on the tour, to a nearly sold-out audience.
The night opened with “Thorns,” presenting a lavish, piano-led swell; dreamy and cinematic, with the voice of Rowsell being absolutely pure and painful as she came into the spotlight. The sound of the fragile silence was shattered by “Bloom Baby Bloom,” which was a sound of plinking piano rapidly engulfed in wildness and excitement. Rowsell strolled down the sparkling runway, her singing moving smoothly between silky sweetness and a harsh, rock-influenced roar. During “White Horses,” it was drummer Joel Amey who took the lead; a throbbing synth motif sounded both forward-moving and heavy as Rowsell came in with him in a smoky harmonic duet. She got hold of a guitar just as Joff Oddie invited the audience to wave along — and the arena responded with a sea of arms rolling like tide.
Wolf Alice has come a long way since their early days, and they have become popular with fans worldwide. No longer are they a total indie band. In fact, many critics are saying they now deserve to perform in arena shows. The show has an all-Golden Age glamour feel to it, due to the glittering, sparkling background, complicated rigging and wide-stage dancing used in it. The Clearing is one of those albums where visual epic poetry is perfectly exemplified by its title, large, vigorous and meant to fill a whole space.
“Yuk Foo” evokes an explosion under demanding control, consequent in fast general excitement in the arena. Rowsell, with a megaphone in hand and wearing knee-high boots, took the stage and delivered her lines with anger. The angsty breathtaking four on the floor backbeat with Joff and Theo absolutely shredding their guitars brings you to a punk wonderland. The band hardly takes time to rest as they kick into “Play the Greatest Hits”, a fast, very raw, in-your-face type of charging that gets the pit and right up to the upper tiers swaying along together.
Throughout the whole show, there was no flaws, the band are so unbelievably polished and just get better with age. The variety of their music, from twisted punk with noise to dreamy pop contemplation, should, theoretically, be the opposite of unity. However, it becomes united effortlessly.
The night reaches its inescapable peak at “Don’t Delete the Kisses,” their most famous song. The room fills with nostalgia as the fans erupt in screams and tears. It’s a bit unhinged, a bit euphoric and most definitely a Tumblr throwback.
So, are Wolf Alice one of the UK’s best bands? With tonight’s show, it’s ambitious to argue otherwise.
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Photos and words by @caitlinflood04 on Instagram.
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