Wolf Alice – The Clearing Review

Steady pace and breaks between albums are what Wolf Alice has offered. By slipping into the background and working quietly on The Clearing, there is a sense of surprise, a thrill, even, to their return. It’s only four years since Blue Weekend, but how heavy those four years have been. It may as well be a decade since the last Wolf Alice outing. The Clearing is well worth the aching wait, though, as Ellie Rowsell and the band are in expectedly fine form for their fourth album. Rowsell made it clear what her and the band’s intentions were with The Clearing, an album which not only has the group release some of their strongest songs but cement themselves as a clear best in class. Few are making guitar rock like this, and fewer still are challenging the fundamentals of the genre. Rowsell suggested she wanted the same reverence, the same skill, as Axl Rose of Guns ‘n’ Roses. She has far exceeded that, all of Wolf Alice has.  

Artists are adapting themselves to the tone of the times. Messages of self-reflection in a world now adorned in cream cargo pants and ill-fitting moustaches. Narcissism, lust, and soft baroque tones to back it all are in place. It’s nothing short of incredible. That feeling is steadied very well throughout The Clearing, a consistent career-best from Wolf Alice. Opening song Thorns is a staggering piece of work, a highlight reel of what makes the band such a contemporary thrill. They are advancing well from their previous works. A magnificent vocal range from Rowsell is made the core, and the string sections surrounding her, the baroque form taken on by the instrumentals, is magnificent. Those tones lead on brilliantly into Bloom Baby Bloom, a confident lead single which lays those instrumental changes bare. Rowsell is nothing short of stunning across The Clearing. A magnificent vocal strength, a stronger writing style, which makes those hang-ups of your 20s and 30s feel like clarifying instances.  

This is not so much an adaptation of the baroque rock genre, but a revival. Wolf Alice has been very careful in balancing the change in their sound in service of the genre, but also in reviving the floatier, piano-heavy tone for their benefit. Just Two Girls is a fantastic balance of those tones, while Leaning Against The Wall is a confident drift into slower material with percussion-heavy bliss. Those little pieces of life which stick in the mind for no reason are the making of Passenger Seat. A tremendous song of journeys and finding yourself on the road. A message as old as the genre, but revived perfectly with a contemporary flourish only Wolf Alice could provide. But the Rowsell-led band are not just dipping into the past, they are evolving the sound and flourishing as they do so. Bread Butter Tea Sugar has a magnificent instrumental running through it with shades of Electric Light Orchestra, while Safe in the World brings on a stripped-back tenderness which, while inevitable, is welcome. 

Magnificently consistent is what The Clearing is. A mesmerising set of songs musing on the importance of following your own path. White Horses and The Sofa get to grips with that, the Nomad life seen as a chance to break free from the pains of the world and personal problems. It’s hard not to get up and wander off into that great unknown with The Clearing backing you. Unanswered questions, blasphemy’s reckoning, and a desire to connect with what remains important are what the band offers here. It’s truly a masterstroke from the group, whose instrumental improvements are clear. A considerable triumph for Wolf Alice here, whose work is that fine balance between sincerely uplifting and grounded in realism.