‘My Love Is Cool’ Album Review
Artist: Wolf Alice
Album: My Love Is Cool
Release: 22 June 2015
Call it the new soundtrack to your teenage memories, ‘My Love Is Cool’ focuses on life’s little pleasures.
The four-piece English alternative rock band Wolf Alice, consists of Ellie Rowsell (singer/guitar), Joff Oddie (guitar), Theo Ellis (bassist), and Joel Amey (drummer), recently released their debut album last June.
Wolf Alice started in 2010 which was initially a duet act with Rowsell doing the vocals and Oddie the acoustics. Their music was mellow and folk-like way back, but they decided to add electric elements to their sound. To achieve this, they recruited childhood friends to join them, and thus the full band, Wolf Alice, was created. But after several injuries and a change in priorities, two members who joined the duo quit the band. In 2012, a new drummer and bassist were added — Joel Amey and Theo Ellis. With this new lineup, they created and released EPs together in 2013 and 2014, garnering fans before a full-length album was even put out.
Their first album, ‘My Love Is Cool’, was released in June 2015 and I have only one word to describe it — Magical. The album isn’t filled with your typical chart-toppers. No, it is not. It’s a record filled with stories; the romanticization of adolescent years. The sound is youthful and fresh with the bands’ musical style shining through. Clash {magazine} has described the band as “the lovechild of folk and grunge.” As the media labels them so, the band themselves described their music as ‘rocky pop’.
Their music is guitar-driven with a hint of ambient inspired sound and unexpected female vocals. The first single off the album, ‘Giant Peach’, highlights the band’s gritty rock aesthetic. The lyrics suggest a ‘love affair with London town and the way Rowsell feels about it. “I have a tricky love affair / with the place where I grew up / but it knows I’ll never leave… Our dark and pretty town.” It’s a song to dance to and for lack of better words, also a song to lose your shit to.
The second single from the album is a rework of their previous song ‘Bros’, which happens to be a favourite of mine. With a familiar guitar riff, the song sets a soothing indie/alternative sound, quite opposite to the first single. Picture late-night drives with friends, with blaring music, singing at the top of your lungs. “Stick it out together like we always do / Oh, there’s no one, there’s no one quite like you.” This is the song — the song of the night.
There are different genres of music incorporated into the record and we hear this as the album opens with ‘Turn to Dust’. This is unlike the two singles. With a folk-like sound, it shows the gentler side of the band and creates a melancholic atmosphere with the free-flowing pick of the guitar, mixed with ambient noises. The track is followed by their single ‘Bros’, which comes before a string of well-constructed alternative tunes that call for some dancing and occasional headbanging.
The bands’ inspiration for ‘Your Love’s Whore’ seemed to have come from rock music with heavy drum and bass riffs. They made great use of guitar instrumentals that stays on top of the music to complete the sound. The music turns into a full-on indie-rock anthem as it progresses to the end.
‘Lisbon’ is another track that sets off this vibe. However, the melody is sung in a mellow and soft tone at the beginning which later turns into a gritty alternative rock sound. ‘You’re a Germ’, ‘Giant Peach’ and ‘ Fluffy’ are among the others that call for some serious headbanging brought upon by the gritty rock aesthetic the songs convey.
Despite the ongoing projection of alternative music, the band decides to take us back to their folk sound with their track ‘Silk’ mixing it with possible influences of music artists like The 1975 and Lana Del Ray. They made use of ambient noises and slow, dragged melodies.
Not only can you expect different genres within the record, but some songs also blend the taste of folk and rock. ‘Swallowtail’, another song that features the softer side of the band begins with a male vocal accompanied by an acoustic guitar. As the song progresses, a duet between a male and female is heard and a slow drum tempo of a rock ballad is added. What makes this song so interesting is that besides all the added layers of instruments such as a wailing electric guitar that lingers in the background, the song still sounds simplistic. That is until it gets to the part where the track transforms into a full-blown indie tune. Dare I compare the song to Zeppelin’s ‘Stairway to Heaven’?
The album finishes off with something a bit different from the rest. The closing track ‘The Wonderwhy’ begins with more ambient noises together with a simple drum beat and bass riff. This creates a melancholic tone, begging for things not to end. The melody and the lyrics match the music as it also suggests the same ‘Don’t leave me here when I’m not sold [8x]’.
Just as you think, you’ve reached the end; the band throws in another surprise. The closing song has a hidden track found in the last few minutes of the song. It’s a soft acoustic that could bring a smile to someone’s face. The lyrics tie up the album well as it incorporates the band’s musical journey so far. ‘You sat smoking cigarettes / teach me, teach me, teach me rock n roll… My love bends rules / my love is cool’. This ends the album with an ease of a lullaby bringing us back to the band’s roots.
Wolf Alice has definitely made their name in the music scene. Despite already having a solid fan base and the approval of critics behind them, this record offers a wealth of material that entices new fans — like myself. With a sense of self-discovery and a coming of age story heard from start to finish, ‘My Love Is Cool’ is a record dedicated to my teenage memories.
