‘Just Two Girls’ at Wolf Alice

Wolf Alice – OVO Hydro, Glasgow

By Katlyn Mortimer

No other act could make me drive the 90 minutes from St Andrews to Glasgow than British indie-rock quartet, Wolf Alice. My best friend and fellow fanatic, Beth, had  exams scheduled in the following days, and utterly refused to be anywhere other than the Main Library by 9am the next day. So, at noon on Sunday 7th December, we took to the road in my Peugot 108, armed with Google Maps and a shared desire to see the band who were the very reason we became friends in fresher’s week of 2023.

 After trodding about the city centre for a few hours, the rain delayed our train back to the OVO Hydro so that we showed up just as doors opened at 6:30pm. Journalistic professionalism aside, it would be inaccurate to not highlight our shared level of fandom – we listened to their latest LP The Clearing together at its midnight release on August 22nd, purchased matching t-shirts from the merch stand, and Beth even has a Blue Weekend song lyric tattooed on her back. Stood snugly near the star-shaped stage, things felt rather full-circle.

 Support acts for the UK tour leg included Bria Salmena, a post-punk vocalist and songwriter from Toronto. She delivered perhaps some of the best live vocals I’ve heard from an opening act; gritty without sacrificing clarity. With a 7pm set and a mostly empty arena, slightly awkward silences bookended each song, but still, Salmena was unphased. Up next was Sunflower Bean, an NYC band who I was familiar with from their feature on the season one soundtrack of Netflix’s Heartstopper.  Yet their new sound and visual aesthetic no longer matches up with their cutesy name or association with a  tween rom-com series. Their performance was met with greater enthusiasm as the room continued to fill, coupled with a raised glass of Buckfast as some mild Scottish pandering.

 Wolf Alice took the stage just after 9pm, and opened with ‘Thorns’ which is also the first track of their latest album. Almost as a signposting for what’s to come, frontwoman Ellie Rowsell sung “God knows that I can’t resist / To make a song and dance about it.” Her vocals switched from soft to guttural, and continued to do so throughout the night in a way which made me question how she maintains such stamina for an entire tour. This was immediately followed by lead single ‘Bloom Baby Bloom’, which begins with a bouncing piano melody before transforming into a forceful protest against expectations. The lights quickly turned red for the pre-chorus, as she half sings/half screams “Look at me trying to play it hard / I’m so sick and tired of trying to play it hard.”

 The show continues through a run of upbeat indie-rock moments: ‘White Horses’ into ‘Formidable Cool’, followed by more relaxed numbers such as ‘Leaning Against The Wall’ (a simple yet beautiful song about seeing your crush at the function), and ‘Just Two Girls’ (during which I paid much more attention to the fact that Beth and I were just that, than to the performance itself).

 Songs were punctuated less so by comments from the frontwoman, and more so from bassist Theo Ellis, who spent the entire show pointing, laughing, and grinning at fans, if not throwing plectrums their way. Despite her commanding vocals, Rowsell seemed almost bashful when addressing the crowd.

 Fifteen years into their career, it baffles me that a band as refined and as anthemic as Wolf Alice are only now levelling up to an arena tour. The band have 4/4 Mercury Prize nominated albums, with Visions of A Life claiming the win in 2018, and drew thousands to their sunset Glastonbury performance this summer. Still, the nosebleeds of the Hydro were curtained off due to a lack of ticket sales, and the back of the floor still had significant breathing room 15 minutes before showtime. As Ellis almost acknowledged this, he instead said: “Nah fuck that – we love you guys, and this is an honour.”

 The final song of the evening was ‘Don’t Delete The Kisses’, their biggest hit to date, and the perfect closer for the evening. The song details the anxiety and lingering doubt of having a crush, or the worthiness of having any romantic connection at all – “What if it’s not meant for me? Love.” The crowd chanted these lyrics with arms outstretched, asking the question. The glittery silver backdrop onstage matched perfectly with the song’s sparkling synths, and as the band left the stage we caught one last glimpse of the angel wings painted on the back of Rowsell’s leotard. Both aesthetically and musically, the concert felt like a dream.

 I can safely say I will continue to take the bus to Glasgow gigs for as long as my Young Scot card forgoes me the fee, but if any band were to motivate me to relive the trauma of the M8 again, it could only be Wolf Alice.