Wolf Alice’s number one album ‘Blue Weekend’ is a piece of art that consistently pulls on your heartstrings and fills you with melancholy. It has excellent quality throughout and an introspective feel that makes you want to grab a glass and reflect on life.
As with many bands, this represents and more grown-up sound and an evolution for the band. While it may be a little more laid back, there is still plenty of attitude here. Let’s take a journey through its 11 tracks.
Track by Track
1. “The Beach”
A calm yet sultry start to the album that explores themes of friendship and nature. The album is bookended with “The Beach II”, which gives the album great closure. The track slowly builds up into the crescendo and is a good opener.
2. “Delicious Things”
A great songwriter forces you to feel their emotion through the song and Ellie Rowsell does that perfectly here. She takes you on a trip through her journey of trying to fit in at a Los Angeles party, being excited but overwhelmed. It’s a clever song and lyrically superb.
3. “Lipstick on the Glass”
This is another that draws you in. A song about love, lust and betrayal. The drums really drive the song along, together with Rowsell’s haunting vocals. Not one of my favourites from the album but still very good.
4. “Smile”
The first of the single tracks on the album and a favourite of anyone who prefers the rocky side of Wolf Alice. The talking through the verses sounds brilliant and the punky style is a great snap away from the more dreamy first three tracks.
5. “Safe from Heartbreak (If You Never Fall in Love)”
If you paid no attention to the lyrics, you’d be forgiven for thinking this was a whimsical love song. As the title suggests, it’s more bitter than that. It has more of a folk sound and showcases the band’s variety of musical styles.
6. “How Can I Make It OK?”
A dreamy but pained song. It’s another track released as a single but I found it hard to get into. Not a bad track but a weaker one on the album.
7. “Play the Greatest Hits”
This track is a return to their punk style with a song about getting lost in the music. It has plenty of high energy and some may love it. Unfortunately, I didn’t.
8. “Feeling Myself”
A song that explores the expectations of sex when it comes to men and women. A bold song that has a sultry vibe, which many of the tracks on this album do. The music is anthemic as it builds to a crescendo, as the narrator lets you know that they get more pleasure from, well, feeling themselves.
9. “The Last Man on Earth”
The best song on the album and a masterpiece. It hits you right in the feels instantly and pulls you right in with the naked piano playing. It speaks of people who expect good things to happen to them, without ever really trying.
It’s a beautiful and melancholic song. Wolf Alice has perfected the art of building up the music in their songs and this is a great example. The Beatles-esque musical middle 8 is a little bit random but it somehow fits.
The stunning music and melody are perfectly accompanied by Rowsell’s excellent vocals.
10. “No Hard Feelings”
Not quite on the levels of “The Last Man on Earth” but this is another stunning track. Patently painful, it follows the album’s main theme of heartache and reflection. The music is minimalist when it could have easily been overdone. It allows the brilliant lyrics and vocals to shine.
11. “The Beach II”
The part two from the opening track. The lyrics in this are somewhat more positive than the opener. It helps to put an optimistic outlook on what at times can be a lyrically pained album. It’s a good way to end a great album.
Album breakdown
No. of skippers: Three (6, 7, 8)
No. of great songs: Four (2, 4, 9, 10)
Best lyric:
It’s not hard to remember
When it was tough to hear your name
Crying in the bathtub
To “Love Is A Losing Game”
I love the image of someone listening to this track feeling sorry for themselves by listening to a track about feeling sorry for youself. A heartache inception. It’s just one of many lyrics I could have chosen as overall, it’s a lyrically brilliant album.
Standout song
The Last Man On Earth
It’s great to find hidden gems on an album but sometimes a track is the lead single and the most played song for a reason. It’s a brilliant song in every way possible.
Moment of the album
I love Wolf Alice’s variety but after the first three tracks, there was a worry that this might be full of dreamy numbers. The way “Smile” slaps you across the face is brilliant with its razor-sharp riff and then Rowsell’s choppy lyrical delivery.
Overall
This was an album I thoroughly enjoyed. Despite having a few weaker tracks in the lower-middle order, it’s an album I’ll happily listen to in its entirety again. It’s full of good songs and is very well thought out in its structure and delivery. I’ve given it a solid 8/10.