Ellie of Wolf Alice - Shrinking violet doesn't enter into the equation.
Wolf Alice – Live At Reading-Leeds – 2018 – Past Daily Soundbooth
Wolf Alice – live at Reading-Leeds Festival 2018 – BBC Radio 1 – August 24, 2018 – BBC Radio 1 –
Wolf Alice in concert tonight. Performing at the 2018 Reading-Leeds Festival and captured for posterity by BBC Radio 1 on August 24, 2018.
Wolf Alice formed in 2010 as an acoustic duo comprising singer Ellie Rowsell and guitarist Joff Oddie, since 2012 Wolf Alice have also featured bassist Theo Ellis and drummer Joel Amey.
Their name came from a short story by Angela Carter. Eventually deciding to add electric elements to their sound, they recruited Rowsell’s childhood friend Sadie Cleary to play bass and Oddie’s friend James DC to be their drummer. They self-released an EP called Wolf Alice that year, featuring three songs: “Every Cloud”, “Wednesday”, and “Destroy Me”.
When their drummer broke his wrist in 2012, Joel Amey joined the band as a temporary replacement, but later became a permanent member. In that same year, Cleary left to focus on her studies. Theo Ellis was then recruited as their bassist in late 2012. They released the song “Leaving You” online on SoundCloud as a free download which gained airplay from BBC Radio 1 and featured in NME’s ‘Radar’ section. After the song was released, they toured with Peace, and recorded a session for Huw Stephens’ Radio 1 show in January. They released their first physical single “Fluffy” in February 2013 on the Chess Club label.
Wolf Alice released their second single “Bros” in May on Chess Club Records. “Bros” is one of the first songs that Rowsell wrote, which the band played in their early stages, leading to a tour where the band were supported by bands such as Dressed Like Wolves and Dead New Blood. In October 2013, Wolf Alice released their first official EP called Blush, which was preceded by the release of “She”.
In December 2013, they were chosen as the single most blogged about artist in the UK in that year by BBC Radio 6 Music. In 2014, they signed to Dirty Hit and released their second EP Creature Songs in May. In December 2014, the band were named “Best Breakthrough Artist” at the UK Festival Awards.
In late February 2015, Wolf Alice announced their debut album My Love Is Cool, and released the first single from the album, “Giant Peach”. In April, they released a reworked version of the fan favourite “Bros” as the second single from their debut album. On 10 June, the band shared a new track, “You’re a Germ”. My Love Is Cool was released on 22 June, debuting at number two on the UK Albums Chart and receiving highly positive reviews. Later that year, they released “You’re a Germ” and “Freazy” as singles, as well as “Lisbon” in 2016. Later in 2016, they toured as a support act for The 1975’s tour in the US.
Filmmaker Michael Winterbottom followed Wolf Alice as they toured in support of My Love Is Cool. He filmed the band and also inserted two actors among them, playing members of the road crew, with a fictional love story developing as they moved from gig to gig. The resulting docudrama film, On the Road, was released in October 2016. According to Deadspin, “In the documentary, Winterbottom captures 16 different gigs and daily life backstage from the point of view of a new member of their crew.”
In case you missed it, here is their standout performance at the 2018 Reading-Leeds Festival.
Yes, play it loud. It’s almost required.
