(Credits: Far Out / LastFM)
Wed 10 December 2025 9:00, UK
Like many female-fronted bands across all ages, Wolf Alice seems in a league of their own.
Although influenced by those who came before, many of them seemed to have arrived completely independent of their peers, wolves among sheep, fully-fledged forces ready to step into the spotlight despite the scrutiny that often awaits them.
Blondie, for instance, was seen by some as nothing more than a spectacle, but that didn’t stop Debbie Harry from letting confidence exude from her posture, knowing that, when all’s said and done, the joke’s on them. In fact, the challenges became one of the major driving forces that inspired her to greatness and gave her the energy to want to rise as far as she possibly could at the time.
Wolf Alice is no different, which makes sense for a band that was named after a story about defying sexuality and gender expectations, as well as the isolation and alienation that comes with being treated a certain way because of who you are. A lot of Wolf Alice’s music tackles much of the same, especially on The Clearing, with songs like ‘Play It Out’ looking at the value and power of agency in a society that still clutches onto tradition.
At this point, however, Wolf Alice had already stepped into their strengths, with The Clearing representing this move into “the freeing feeling of finding a moment of peace and clarity”. While there’s been a lot of that through their discography, even in the material that tackles uncertainty and lowered self-esteem, the latest record lives up to their namesake, taking on that wolf-like figure with unwavering confidence, especially with frontwoman Ellie Rowsell, who carries it in her demeanour in a way she hasn’t before.
However, much of this was already there, even in its simmering state. After all, Rowsell grew up endeared to many of the same indie and rock outfits as her peers, taking their strength and resilience as something she could also own. It might have taken a while to hook in, but it was always a part of her talent and performance, even in its more subdued states, when it’s less to do with survival and more to do with taking sonic risks and standing out with different mixes of genres and styles.
The Standard once asked Rowsell which artists she’s most inspired by, and the singer found it difficult to answer. She praised the songwriting genius of Alex G – someone whom she said was one of the most “exciting” songwriters of the current age and whose music appeals to her tastes. She also said she’d been through Fleetwood Mac and George Harrison phases, but that she also enjoyed those close to home, which at the time had mainly been Harry’s House, with the band joining the singer on his UK festival run.
She also acknowledged that tastes change, but that the three bands that have remained a constant were The Strokes, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and Queens of the Stone Age. “I’ve always loved [those bands],” she said.
Adding, “I find the question hard, there’s no one easy answer because I feel like I’m pigeonholing myself – those are just the people that came to my mind today.”
While Rowsell eventually shaped Wolf Alice into its own force, the band’s sharp edges no doubt came from those influences, inspiring her own performance and approach to songwriting. They may simmer beneath the surface now that she’s become a name in her own right, but they’ll always be there, servicing the beast from its foundations.
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