Wolf Alice Enchants Salt Lake City with a Dream-Soaked Performance
Article written by and photos by Kili Goodrich
A tinsel silver backdrop shimmered as The Complex filled to the brim for a sold out show on October 4th. Wolf Alice brought The Clearing Tour to Salt Lake City, Utah. The British alternative rock band is known for their genre versatility. They’ve been delivering power-packed music with ethereal ballads since 2010. The band consists of Ellie Rowsell (guitar, lead vocals), Joff Oddie (guitar, vocals), Theo Ellis (bass), and Joel Amey (drums, vocals.) The concert space was nothing but a celebration of their live performing ability. It left us breathless and full.
The room fell dark with a heavy hush. The sense of hearing was alerted as Rowsell began singing the first lines of ‘Thorns,’ the opening track of their latest album The Clearing. Lights dimmed with a warm autumn color scheme. The song felt thick with emotion. Rowsell sings, “I must be a narcissist. God knows that I can't resist making a song and dance about it. Maybe I'm a masochist.” Giving the feeling of a push and pull situation. One about dealing with reconciliation with pain and expression. The somber sound felt like the perfect opening curtain moment to begin the show with.
The somber curtain may have lifted, but the gentleness of the beginning remained the same. With ‘How Can I Make It Okay?’ playing I began to think that Wolf Alice’s music always gives main character energy to the most ethereal movie magic moments of one's life. Songs that feel very prominent in the space around you. As if their music feels magically absorbent. The song in particular progresses into a beautiful build. Rowsell’s light voice is repetitive in passionate pleas of “I just want you to be happy. Nothing else is as important as that to me” while the crowd and other band members echo back the lyrics of the title. The entire song feels heavy with desire to make everything right.
‘Delicious Things,’ paired well with the opening two songs. Gentle and heavy in meaning. All before the band broke the fragile thread with ‘Formidable Cool.’ The lights were stark white and flashing. A perfect tone set for the heavy guitar riffs. The energy of the song is unconventional. Struck with Rowsell’s delicate yet punchy tones, and deliberate tension. The song paints the energy of someone who charms, but the narrator sings, "I know it's all an act.” The lyrics feel like a power imbalance that reflects into the cutting sounds coming from the instruments. The disappointment of putting trust into something that was just a facade.
A song I personally have loved dearly from the band's latest album is ‘White Horses.’ Drummer, Amey takes lead vocals throughout the song. The song carries a warm ambience. Rowsell breaks through Amey’s sung lyrics with, “Know who I am, that’s important to me. Do what I can to see the wood from the trees.” The song feels like a nod to heritage. A found family formed from those who travel in life beside you. There feels like a curiosity to openness and personal identity. The way the band performs the song made me feel the sort of freedom one has running through open space. No bounds.
When folk meets bedroom pop, you get the luminous ‘Just Two Girls.’ Rowsell ditched her guitar to make a bond with the spinning reflection of a disco ball. The piano highlights the song, which feels like a combination of dinner conversations with your closest friend. The intimacy of the song is light and relatable. The acoustic guitar faded out the piano with ‘Leaning Against the Wall.’
A song that feels like one is fully saturated in infatuation. The song is folky and tender with full drum takeovers. Often darkening to light Rowsell in a drowning pink. A notable moment of the song is the outro’s digital drum sounds that ties the ribbon of identity while being in love. ‘The Sofa’ was performed with a cinematic feeling. Rowsell sang into the mic with her hair blowing back while singing about aging and accepting uncertainty. ‘Bread Butter Tea Sugar’ was an absolute highlight. A projector displayed the shape of a star, big and wide on the silver backdrop. Rowsell in the middle of the shape, while miniature stars projected like disco balls here and there.
The beauty of the dreamlike moment was disrupted by ‘Yuk Foo.’ The song yanked that silver haze from the stage and replaced the scene with flashing cop like lights of reds and blues. Rowsell appeared back onto the stage with a megaphone. She sang the song with incredible distortion. The song itself is feral and unfiltered. It's stuffed with frustration and impulse. The lyrics are for someone bored and unbothered. Someone consumed by emotion and giving cold retaliation.
‘Lipstick On the Glass’ is as incredibly haunting and beautiful live as it is on recording. The song feels like enduring something that is vulnerable and having the inability to resist it. The performance feels like a dramatic peak drenched in red light. ‘Smile’ is one of my favorite songs from the band, and the performance was pulsing with energy. It has a grungey transition that is gritty. The lyrics are assertive and powerful through a female delivering them across the crowd scape. The song addresses pressure to conform. The lyrics validate personal emotions and point out the balance between sensitivity and strength. There was a moment where Rowsell's guitar string snapped while she and Oddie were having a shred off. The moment continued in a scene of bandmates laughing and absolutely enjoying themselves.
It was no surprise that the punch-packing set list ended with ‘Bloom Baby Bloom.’ A song everyone was buzzing with anticipation to hear live. The song is beautifully rich. Calm and vibrant. The lyrics show off the importance of identity. Of course, the band returned to the stage with an encore. After all, ‘Don’t Delete the Kisses’ could not be missed. The crowd was gifted even more when Rowsell entered down into the crowd. She danced and sang along with fans in the thick of the audience. A cherished and unforgettable moment. Wolf Alice delivered an absolute iconic performance. Their tour in North America is coming to a close, but we can’t wait to catch them again in the future!
