Review: Wolf Alice – The Clearing

Wolf Alice - The Clearing
Adam Grundy

There’s a comforting feeling behind Ellie Rowsell’s vocals. The front-woman of British rock band, Wolf Alice, captivates and charms all over the band’s fourth studio album, called The Clearing. The album itself was produced by veteran hit-maker Greg Kurstin (Foo Fighters, Jonas Brothers), and The Clearing has a bit of that classic rock feeling to it as you play it from front to back. From the upbeat piano found on the lead single of “Bloom Baby Bloom” that gave Wolf Alice fans a sense of the direction found on the band’s latest effort, to the stylistic choices made by the three other band members to connect things together, The Clearing wasn’t exactly the album I thought would follow after 2021’s Blue Weekend. Instead, the album plays out like a 70’s rock n’ roll romp, much like what Fleetwood Mac cut their teeth to during that decade, with mostly positive results. The LP’s strengths are found in the shimmering sheen and musical polish of “Just Two Girls” and the album closing single of “The Sofa,” while I initially had trouble connecting with the style of “Bloom Baby Bloom” when it released in mid-May. Wolf Alice are trying to develop their sound by looking towards the past for tried and true influences, and they can only hope that their fans are still with them on the latest detour in their trajectory.

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Frightful Places – “Spirits Are Up!” (Song Premiere)

Frightful Places
Adam Grundy

Today I’m thrilled to bring everyone the latest single and visualizer video from Frightful Places, the solo project of Kevin Tiernan, called “Spirits Are Up!” Kevin shared, “Picture this: You’re on the beach in July, the sun warm on your skin, daydreaming about autumn leaves and the crisp October breeze. Sitting beside the one you love, you’re torn between soaking in the last days of summer and eagerly awaiting Halloween. ‘Spirits Are Up!’ is an optimistic anthem that blends the dreamy essence of shoegaze with the vibrant energy of The Cure and Turnover. Produced by Chris Teti (The World Is A Beautiful Place…), this track will make you feel sun-soaked, even as you start to crave fall.” If you’re enjoying the new single, please consider streaming more Frightful Places music here.

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abandcalledlove – “A Liar!” (Song Premiere)

abandcalledlove
Adam Grundy

Today I’m proud to introduce everyone to a great new band from Atlanta, Georgia named abandcalledlove. Their latest single, “A Liar!” is brimming with big indie pop rock hooks, rich textural instrumental sections, all paired with infectious melodies and harmonies. abandcalledlove is Ryan Chandler Love (lead vocals), Ian Joshua Riley (producer/guitarist), Blake Aldridge (guitar), Brooks Roberts (bass), and Austin Yagle (drums), and their band chemistry showcases why they routinely sell out venues they are booked to play at. Band member, Ian Joshua Riley shared:

If the opening track of the EP is a ‘mission statement’ of sorts denoting what love is, and the second track of the EP is an extrapolation of those ideas, then ‘A Liar!’, being track three, is intended to be an antithetical, bastardized representation of ‘love’ experienced while intentionally and genuinely pursuing it. The dialogue-style approach to the lyrics combined with the narrator’s internal monologue in the chorus is meant to represent a hypothetical, but universally relatable narrative of the seemingly never-ending chaotic cycle of miscommunication, unmet expectations, confusion, hurt, and misunderstanding that come with the pursuit of genuine relationship when goals are fundamentally unaligned. We also wanted the push-and-pull nature of the production and composition to reflect that tension as much as possible, so we spent a lot of time in the studio balancing the more traditional dynamic rock elements with the more subtle electronics and ambient, atmospheric moments to really emphasize the overall dynamics of the track, especially leading up to the song’s climax.

If you’re enjoying the early listen to “A Liar!”, please consider pre-saving the band’s debut EP, Thriving Season (that releases on September 26th) here.

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