Wolf Alice are the new cool kids of rock and roll. A description appropriate for one song is completely thrown aside in the next, meaning that it is impossible to accurately define what Wolf Alice’s music actually is. Wonderfully loud, admirably wild but retaining a certain sincerity, ‘Giant Peach’ is the song “to dance to, but also a song to lose your shit to,” as lead singer, guitarist and all round grunge angel Ellie Rowsell told FADER. Alongside this show-stopping single is the announcement that Wolf Alice’s debut album My Love is Cool is to be released on 22 June this year. It is produced by Mike Crossey, a man who has previously worked with the likes of Arctic Monkeys and Foals. There’s no excuse: you should be excited right now.
‘Giant Peach’ is epic. Completely. Utterly. It’s outstanding; very Roald Dahl in a sinister ‘subliminal messages freak’ kind of way. The song is layered so skilfully and subtly, allowing it to transition from an intriguing bassline led introduction to the ultimate underground climax, complete with the imagery of dripping eyeliner, glittery everything and swinging lights overhead. Throughout the verses – which act as developing stages in this transition – lie hints of the havoc and anarchy projected towards the end. Screeching guitars and grunge-inspired riffs, untamed drum beats and Ellie’s late 90s Riot Grrrl vocals unite perfectly in a song music lovers have waited far too long to experience.
Basically, if I were a song I would want to be ‘Giant Peach.’
Words by Caitlin O’Connor