Wolf Alice – Bloom Baby Bloom Review

Extraordinary pressure is inevitable on a hotly anticipated return. Wolf Alice has not been seen in three years, and yet the extraordinary reach of their sound, the thrill of Blue Weekend, remains. Following that up, no matter the wait, be it a few months or the two-and-a-half years between them, the intensity of expectation is still at an all-time high. Latest single Bloom Baby Bloom, the lead track from upcoming album, The Clearing, hears a change in direction. The band decided that is what they need. It will be less jarring for those who do not routinely have Wolf Alice on repeat, but the clear change in sound and message, is clear. There was an accessible defiance in the tone of their previous releases, Lipstick on the Glass an obvious choice to make from many exceptional pieces. Bloom Baby Bloom does not depart from the emotional depths Wolf Alice frequently showcase but their instrumental style has evolved.  

Those changes are outstanding. From a harsher lyrical jab to a deeper drawl, a throaty and rock-adjacent performance, but from a marginalised perspective. Those who say guitar rock is dead are too deep with their heads in the sand to notice the evolution going on around them. Wolf Alice is now leading the charge; a change worthy of a listener’s time can be heard on Bloom Baby Bloom. There is the righteousness of classic rock tones, yet the uplifting, spirited positivity which comes from heartfelt writing. The two do not go together as often as you would believe, and for Wolf Alice to tie the two together so naturally, especially at a time when the rock genre is still oversaturated with banal instances of love through apps or painting the town red in some strait-laced, unambitious way, is monumental. A sincere shift not just for Wolf Alice, who were never a band to rest on a typical sound, but for the genre. 

A two-pronged liberation, for listeners who find themselves wanting a new punch of ambition to back their choices, and for the band. Ellie Rowsell had nothing to prove before but still has plenty to give on Bloom Baby Bloom. An adaptation and an overhaul of the rock and roll attitude. Applying that to softer flourishes, the little details which are buried in the mix but heard on repeat listens, is what the band excel at. What remains is the exceptional guitar work, its roaring passion still remains, but the context has changed. Bloom Baby Bloom asks nothing of its listeners but everything of the band. The four-piece goes from strength to strength in assessing their sound. What they find is a chance to prove the ignorant listener wrong to a further degree.  

Bloom Baby Bloom is a hearty blur of straight-shooting rock riffs and the art rock sound which has dominated the last few years. Wolf Alice is not adjacent with the depths of what art rock can offer, but they certainly sound willing to change, to try new sounds. That is what a lot of listeners will lack, that same gusto and bravery to adapt to the times and lead the charge rather than sulk at it sounding different. What could have been a collapse of what makes Wolf Alice such an entertaining band is the opposite, this is a strengthening of their core, all the while they are pushing for new instrumental flair, fresh lyrical jabs. Rowsell successfully adapts her voice into the rock instrument she had been hinting at on Blue Weekend, and finds herself evolving far beyond her peers. There is an assurance heard on Bloom Baby Bloom which has Wolf Alice, and Rowsell as the subject, confident of this change. They have every right to be. Bloom Baby Bloom has the band pick up right where they left off when it comes to quality.