My Love is Cool // Wolf Alice
If we all got awards just for wanting them: Leonardo DiCaprio would have an Oscar and the trophy cabinet industry would be booming. To the dismay of many the world doesn’t work like that, but Joel, from the London band, stating that the mercury award would be “a very strong validation of the musicality of the record” is indicative of the band’s intents. A Mercury Prize to Wolf Alice indicates they can do more than sell units and make teenagers jump around; it means the subtleties of My Love Is Cool are truly appreciated.
Wolf Alice are similar to many bands in the fact they maintain cult support from young fans who religiously use their pocket money to mosh for approximately an hour and a half in their local O2 academy. What separates them, however, is that they took their time to produce an album that demonstrates the songwriting talents of Joel and Ellie and showcases the vocal finesse of the latter (and the former in ‘Swallowtail’). They took two years to perfect the album, re-recording old songs and writing new ones, to ensure they were up to scratch for what was to become the debut album of 2015.
They could have easily collated songs from previous EPs to curate an album of their biggest hits to date. This was precisely what they didn’t do and it paid off. From the harrowing screams and explosive riff of ‘Giant Peach’ to the floaty laid back fun of ‘Freazy’ the album offers so much by the way of variants. What makes it worthy of a Mercury prize is that it fits so many variables into twelve songs that all deserve each other. An album that is nigh on impossible to get bored of, the Mercury Prize is the “validation of the musicality of the record” they deserve.
Words by Jack Perrin