Fresh off the back of their latest momentous achievement – winning Best Group at the 2022 BBRIT Awards – Wolf Alice beautifully mesmerised London’s Hammersmith Apollo to close out their UK tour. This latest run of dates, like many other artists and bands across the country, was delayed due to COVID – yet the night proved to be entirely worth the wait as, in traditional Wolf Alice fashion, they were compelling from start to finish in a thunderous show that firmly proved them to be one of the hottest bands in the world right now.
Having recently played three sold-out shows at Glasgow’s famed Barrowlands, Wolf Alice took to the stage for their final night in London with an infectious aura that comes naturally to a band with multiple years of live experience. Ellie wearing the most immaculate black dress, Theo rocking his instantly-recognisable bleach blonde hair, whilst Joff and Joel entered the fray looking as cool as ever, along with Ryan Malcolm of Superfood as a touring member who fits into the band seamlessly.
Drawing from their ever-deepening catalogue, the setlist featured tracks from their Mercury Award winning album ‘Visions Of A Life’, their most recent album ‘Blue Weekend’ and the critically acclaimed album ‘My Love Is Cool’. Through performing songs from their incredible discography, you see first-hand how easy it is for Wolf Alice to drift between their hard-rock borderline punk tracks, and blissfully transition into that tranquil sound that allows Ellie Rowsell’s beautifully captivating voice to shine.
In doing so, you see the impressive way in which Wolf Alice power through the gears, one moment you are greeted with their electric raucous riffs that elevate the room in ‘Smile’ and ‘Play The Greatest Hits’, to songs that left the crowd absolutely spellbound in ‘The Last Man On Earth’, ‘Safe From Heartbreak (If You Never Fall in Love)’, and their spine-tingling ‘Don’t Delete The Kisses’ featuring in the encore, leaving everyone in the Apollo in a trance-like state.
The Hammersmith Apollo is a rather more intimate venue than Wolf Alice have now become accustomed to, as they have rapidly built themselves from close-quarter sweat-pits to giant arenas and festivals that befit their unique sound. However, there was something so incredible about the intimacy of the venue that fully ensured everyone present appreciated just how musically gifted and charismatic Wolf Alice are. This is a band that are completely aware of their potential, and are doing everything they can to reach it, whilst at the same time making it seem effortless.
There’s such a magic about the way in which they carry themselves, and the cohesion they show when they play together is something that only comes to a band at the very top of their game. A lot of people tout that rock ‘n’ roll may be dead, but it really does feel that with Wolf Alice at the helm it’s very much in safe hands. Perhaps the only negative aspect of the evening was that the set inevitably had to end, but with the alt-rock powerhouse thundering their way through the rest of Britain on their current tour – and with a string of high-profile festival sets planned – you just know that Wolf Alice are going to take their level up once again this year.
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Words: Ben Broyd
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