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The Video Diaries: Wolf Alice
With a new album and arena tour on the horizon, we've revisited Wolf Alice’s career landmarks through the camera lens
Wolf Alice have always been a bit of an anomaly. Breaking through to the mainstream consciousness in an era when EDM and R&B ruled the airwaves, the band gave rock music fans hope that the guitar may continue to be not just relevant, but dare I say ‘cool’.
Unlike few other bands throughout the past decade or so, Wolf Alice have managed to achieve success by straddling commercial appeal without compromising creative ambition. They’ve got an enviable array of accolades that says so: BRIT Awards, a Mercury Prize Award, a Grammy Award nomination, and a No.1 album to boot.
After forming in 2010 as four pals – singer Ellie Rowsell, guitarist Joff Oddie, bassist Theo Ellis and drummer Joel Amey – with a big dream of being in a touring band, Wolf Alice initially plied their grunge-inspired trade in grassroots venues around the UK. Their trajectory has remained on a steady upward spiral since those early days on the road, evolving into Britain’s foremost guitar band with Rowsell’s magnificent soprano voice lighting the way.
With their fourth studio album, The Clearing, set for release this summer and with an arena tour scheduled for this winter, we’re revisiting Wolf Alice’s career landmarks through the camera lens.
2014 – ‘Moaning Lisa Smile’
By this point, ambitious upstarts Wolf Alice had generated meaningful buzz off the back of their self-released debut EP, and 2013 follow-up Blush. Budding label Dirty Hit bought into the band’s potential, and it paid off spectacularly with their 2014 breakthrough EP, Creature Songs. Though, their jewel in the EP’s crown was undoubtedly ‘Moaning Lisa Smile’.
Shrouded in grunge-y malaise, Rowsell’s angelic vocals cut through the smoggy riffs and lifted the band to new heights, after the track caught the attention of listeners across the pond. ‘Moaning Lisa Smile’ charted on alternative radio in the US, was featured on HBO’s The Leftovers, bagged them a performance on The Late Late Show with James Corden in 2015, as well as a Grammy Award nomination the following year. Not too shabby for a song inspired by Ellie Rowsell’s moral compass growing up: Lisa Simpson. Opening up on borrowing the title from The Simpsons episode ‘Moaning Lisa’ where Lisa uses music to deal with her ennui, she explained “they’re like our second family, I’ve learned half my life morals from The Simpsons.”
2014 – Glastonbury Festival debut
Securing a slot on one of Glastonbury Festival’s main, televised stages as a burgeoning rock band is no mean feat. Especially when you’ve yet to release your debut album. Appearing on the John Peel Stage in the afternoon, Wolf Alice packed out the tent based on the promise of just a handful of singles. Though, festival-goers’ gut feelings were proved correct after the rollicking their earlobes got when Wolf Alice’s set came to its conclusion.
It was the beginning of a beautiful love affair between the band and the world’s most coveted music festival – they’ve performed at Worthy Farm five times in total now, and have been touted as potential future headliners each time. After the festival’s fallow year, who knows?
2015 – Live Lounge performance of ‘Steal My Girl’
With the release of their debut album My Love Is Cool nearing, Wolf Alice had already won over the BBC Radio6Music demographic of graphic designers and curious dads. But could they convince the wider population of music lovers that they possessed an uncanny ear for radio-friendly melody? Yes. Absolutely.
For their debut BBC Radio 1’s Live Lounge appearance, Wolf Alice went rogue with a cover of One Direction’s ‘Steal My Girl’. Not only did it endear themselves to the boyband’s agonisingly dedicated fandom, it opened up the guitar-slinging four-piece to an entirely new audience by playing to the mainstream’s pop sensibilities. Funnily enough, Harry Styles would later ask Wolf Alice to support him on the European leg of his Love On Tour stint in 2022, even returning the favour by covering ‘No Hard Feelings’ with Ellie on one occasion. Maybe this had something to do with it.
2015 – Killing it at KEXP
Touring the US ahead of the release of My Love Is Cool – and after capitalising on the interest swirling around ‘Moaning Lisa Smile’ after re-releasing it as a single in America – Wolf Alice were invited to perform for taste-making independent radio station KEXP. It’s a special kind of kudos artists achieve after nailing their first KEXP set. Conjuring the kind of performance you’d expect for an up-close-and-personal crowd in a sweaty grassroots gig venue, Wolf Alice acquitted themselves pretty darn well for a broadcast taking place first thing in the morning. Refreshingly raw, fans of the band still refer to it as one of their favourite performances.
2017 – ‘Don’t Delete The Kisses’
Wowee, what an anthem. The second single from Wolf Alice’s 2017 sophomore album, Visions Of A Life, has in many ways become their defining song. Twinkling synths and a rhythm that flutters along like the London tube on its train tracks on the way home after a promising date has you picturing a future together with someone, Ellie Rowsell truly gives in to her romantic tendencies, consciously choosing to keep the kisses at the end of her text. Unabashedly wide-eyed and wistful about falling in love, ‘Don’t Delete The Kisses’ sees her ignore any doubt and lean right into the emotion.
The song serves as their encore, more often than not, and no wonder – with loved-up crowds screaming the chorus back at the band, it’s quite obvious that ‘Don’t Delete The Kisses’ connected Wolf Alice to a generation of fans feeling the same tingling excitement.
2018 – Winning the Mercury Prize Award
Wolf Alice pulled off a major upset in 2018 after winning the Mercury Prize Award for Visions Of A Life, beating out favourite Nadine Shah, as well heavyweights in Noel Gallagher, Arctic Monkeys and Lily Allen, to get their hands on the career-changing accolade. By the looks of it, they couldn’t believe it themselves. Endearingly jittery, Ellie’s shock at the glitter bomb blasting off as they stepped on stage said it all.
2022 – Winning Best Group at The BRIT Awards
This was the moment. After years of being anointed “Britain’s next best guitar band”, in 2022 Wolf Alice legitimately became Britain’s actual best rock band after winning the award for Best Group. Having missed out on the accolade in 2018, Wolf Alice beat out heavy competition from fellow nominees Coldplay, Little Mix, London Grammar and D-Block Europe to add another trophy to their cabinet. Upon accepting the award, bassist Theo Ellis couldn’t have put it any more succinctly by admitting: “We’re so proud to be a band in this day and age, and to do it with the four of us. Thank you so much. I’m going to get battered.”
2022 – Their last gasp Glastonbury Festival return
Though Wolf Alice have taken to Glastonbury’s stages on a handful of occasions throughout their career, it was their 2022 set on the Pyramid Stage which will last long in the memory – mainly because they very nearly didn’t make it.
Due to a bomb scare at LAX, their flight was cancelled leading to an almighty panic. Luckily they negotiated a last gasp flight to London via Seattle, arriving at Worthy Farm with literal minutes to spare ahead of their set. With little sign of jet lag, Wolf Alice’s harmonic performance beamed like a ray of sun through the mid-afternoon gloom. Swooning the masses as arms swayed in unison, the only signs of precipitation were the tears flowing down the cheeks of everyone in attendance.
2025 – ‘Bloom Baby Bloom’
Marking a new era of bombast, Wolf Alice announced their fourth studio album The Clearing in quite spectacular fashion. Lead single ‘Bloom Baby Bloom’, the band’s first taste of new material in four years, sees them dipping their toe into glittering art rock flamboyance. It’s both beautiful and bonkers.
But ‘Bloom Baby Bloom’ indicates the band have moved to an impressive new level in their songwriting, and are doubling down on their idiosyncrasies. Rowsell’s highwire vocal dexterity is bafflingly awesome, notably throughout the pre-chorus where she summons her inner banshee before flitting effortless to a celestial coo for: “But I’ll bloom, baby, bloom / Watch me, yeah, you’ll see just what I’m worth.” She’s no longer hiding behind her guitar, or her heartache, and is evolving into a bonafide rock icon for the ages. Based on the band’s first offerings from The Clearing, it’s an album tailor-made for major arenas. Right where Wolf Alice belong.
Wolf Alice perform live at 3Arena, Dublin on 10 December 2025. Find tickets here.
