CD of The Week

The highly anticipated album from the London four piece Wolf Alice has finally arrived! After releasing two EPs and a handful of singles, their debut record My Love Is Cool is making waves. Debuting at #2 on the Official Charts over in the UK after being out for a week certainly proves it. But is it worth the hype? Are they actually the “next big thing” to come out of England, or are they just the temporary holders of that title until another band comes along? It’ll take some time to see exactly happens with Wolf Alice, but My Love Is Cool is definitely a great start!

The record as a whole was not exactly what I was expecting. The first track “Turn to Dust” is certainly a quiet way to start a record, but it’s a cool way to start it as well. And it fits quite nicely leading into the new version of “Bros,” which now starts with acoustic guitars instead of the electric ones from its original, single release. “Your Love’s Whore” and “Moaning Lisa Smile” (the latter of the two being a reference to The Simpsons, which the band are huge fans of) really show what the band can do when they want to rock out.

Wolf Alice go back and forth between loud and distorted tracks, to slower chill songs, showing the band’s diversity and how they clearly don’t want to write a particular style or genre. “I’ve never taken a certain style into account [when writing], and I don’t think from now on I ever will.” lead singer Ellie Rowsell said in her recent Y-Not Radiointerview. ”I just do whatever comes out naturally.” And really, what other way is there to go? They’re doing what works for them, and it’s turning out well so far. Overall, My Love Is Cool is a great debut record. The band really shows a very cool diversity in their songs. The rocking songs really get’cha going, and no matter the tempo, Ellie sounds great throughout the album. Killer vocals, great distorted guitars make My Love Is Coolworth the listen. It’s funny that they’re considered one of the next big things, because it doesn’t seem like they’re out there to conquer the world. They’re just doing what they do best, and if world domination comes along with that, then good for them. They’ll certainly deserve it.