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.

Wolf Alice began as a folk band. Not that you would know it if you had only heard their Grammy-nominated grunge single, “Moaning Lisa Smile,” or their commanding trysts into riot grrrl punk music (“Yuk Foo,” “Play the Greatest Hits”). You cannot pigeonhole the London group, not when they leaped from sophisticated balladry to shoegaze to rip-roaring metal tracks on their 2017 Mercury Prize-winning album, Visions of a Life. That’s why I love them so much. There’s always been something for everybody to love: if you like Mazzy Star, you will love “After The Zero Hour.” If you want to hear the British heavy metal revival, I reckon you will be impressed by “Visions of a Life.” If you like Britpop, “The Last Man On Earth” recalls the boldness, effortless cool, and timeless songwriting that defines What’s The Story (Morning Glory)? as a modern classic.