Towards the end of Wolf Alice’s set at the O2, the singer Ellie Rowsell played the glam riff to Giant Peach on a Gibson Flying V guitar — while doing some formation rocking à la Status Quo with the bassist Theo Ellis. This followed a musical theatre-style heartfelt ballad called Bread Butter Tea Sugar, which Rowsell, clad in a jumpsuit with a deer print that Bowie wouldn’t have looked out of place in circa 1972, performed while her giant shadow was cast against a silver glitter heart at the back of the stage. It cemented Wolf Alice’s transformation from a humble indie band into a highly staged, ultra-professional, O2-filling proposition.

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The London group made it here through sheer perseverance and hard work. Starting out in 2010 as a folky duo made up of Rowsell and the guitarist Joff Oddie, they variously went through grungy rock and Kate Bush-tinged alternative pop, but it is with this year’s slow-burner of an album, The Clearing, that they came into their own. On first listen it sounds like a Fleetwood Mac-influenced attempt to break that lucrative US market, but further listens reveal seriously good songwriting, from complex musical ideas couched in accessible melodies to lyrics on figuring out life as an adult in the modern age. And the presentation of this concert matched the new levels of creativity displayed on the album.

The opening three songs in the set showcased The Clearing’s range. First came Thorns, a tender ballad performed by Rowsell under spotlight, then the staccato art rock of Bloom Baby Bloom, followed by White Horses: a classic rocker about identity, heritage and being English sung by the drummer Joel Amey. By Formidable Cool, from 2017’s Visions of a Life, Rowsell was on the floor, screaming, partly because she had fallen down the steps at the back of the stage — a moment of old-fashioned chaos amid the new arena setting.

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“This feels like a dream,” Ellis said, and there was a sense of an underdog-like indie band being stunned by their new popularity. But the commitment to showbusiness was there, from Rowsell lying on a red revolving circle for a sweet pop song called The Sofa to coming on stage amid police sirens and flashing lights for the angry punk rant Yuk Foo. An encore brought the fan favourite Don’t Delete the Kisses and then Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody over the PA; a fitting tribute to the ultimate theatrical rock act from a band coming to terms with their own heightened ambitions.
★★★★☆
Touring to Dec 8, wolfalice.co.uk

Wolf Alice setlist at the O2, London, on December 2

1. Thorns
2. Bloom Baby Bloom
3. White Horses
4. Formidable Cool
5. Just Two Girls
6. Leaning Against the Wall
7. How Can I Make It OK?
8. The Sofa
9. Bros
10. You’re a Germ
11. Safe from Heartbreak (If You Never Fall in Love)
12. Safe in the World
13. Delicious Things
14. Bread Butter Tea Sugar
15. Yuk Foo
16. Play the Greatest Hits
17. Silk
18. Play It Out
19. Giant Peach
20. Smile
21. The Last Man on Earth
22. Don’t Delete the Kisses
23. Bohemian Rhapsody