Wolf Alice – In the Bleak Midwinter Review

Revitalisation of traditional songs and classic poetry appeared to be lost to those old crooners who hoped for easier days. Bob Dylan flittering through the backlog and riffing on the classics written before his time and providing them to those after is a nice touch for his forgotten records. Wolf Alice’s improvements on the Christina Rossetti Christmas carol come at a time of great experience for the band, whose consistency in success means they are more than comfortable honing their unique sound for that of an 1870s traditional poem. Adapting that with style takes more effort than observed on that of In the Bleak Midwinter, a delightful festive treat that offers a new spin on an old classic.

Reworking a classic with an overhaul like no other, In the Bleak Midwinter is given an eerie introduction that soon phases into an overhaul of a synth-like soundscape. Rossetti and Gustav Holst’s lyrics are taken to with such intimacy by the acoustic scratches and vocals of Ellie Rowsell. There was danger of this being a complete and, while not faithful adaptation of these words, a systematic and usual take. It is the danger of traditional music that so few musicians can accurately grasp at while making their own. Cover tracks and adaptations of this range are always going to claw at success, because Wolf Alice has turned a well-regarded piece into a track that sounds so unique to them as a unit. Dream pop-like aesthetic choices are the great overhaul found here.

Where In the Bleak Midwinter may not crack through as a Christmas classic, there is a contemporary adaptation worth experiencing here. Dream pop elements correctly solidified in the most remarkable and engaging moments, experienced acoustics and an element of real clarity in the interpretation. Rowsell benefits from a confidence here that is usually lost on traditional covers. It is not enough to refine the words and create an outpouring, and Wolf Alice as a collective strives one further than that. There is interpretation, there is assuredness, but there is also a heavy reliance on the soundscape created toward the end of the track.

Beeps, booms and bright lights channel the best bits of Wolf Alice here, with In the Bleak Midwinter a competent and cosy piece of musical talent. It will not light the world on fire, but considering Wolf Alice has already managed that with their most recent album, Blue Weekend, they can be given a free pass for trying to carve out a strong, Christmas-themed track. It is not often an artist will attempt, with earnest heart, to record a festive tune that goes beyond that of novelty pop or excuses to knock back mulled wine (thank you, Paul McCartney), but Wolf Alice has crafted a delicate piece here. It is nice and comforting and a great expression of not just what the band can do with lyrics of old, but how they continually press on, offering new experiences through broad genre variations. It is hard to knock In the Bleak Midwinter, it settles nicely in with Phoebe Bridgers’ work on So Much Wine.