Wolf Alice on 'unromantic' love songs and why music and politics go hand in hand

NZ Herald·

29 Nov, 2017 09:00 PM4 mins to read

Wolf Alice's Ellie Roswell (right) says she's an over-thinker who's learning to act upon her feelings. Photo / supplied

Yuk Foo, the second track and first single of Wolf Alice's sophomore album Visions of a Life, is an unexpected scream of energy. Lead singer Ellie Roswell – known for her ethereal, melodic vocals – unleashes an exhilarating punk-rock rage, delivering a string of blows to misogyny in just two minutes.

So what's it like performing that live?

"At the moment we play [Yuk Foo] towards the start [of the set], which is probably quite a bad idea isn't it, because it'll fuck my voice for the rest of the set," says Roswell.

"It's really fun to play live. It's over before you know it. It's like a big flash of noise and then it's gone."

Yuk Foo is almost a polar opposite to their second single Don't Delete the Kisses; a dreamy, ponderous track that follows Roswell on a journey from denying her love for someone – shamefully deleting kisses at the end of text messages – to falling whole-heartedly into it.

"It's like a really unromantic love song," says Roswell. "I'm quite an over-thinker, and I'm just learning to act upon my feelings rather than my head, which you probably should do when it comes to love, shouldn't you."

Learning, growing and changing is at the core of what Visions of a Life is about. It explores what it means to imagine versions of yourself and the people around you, and it mines the processes of getting to those places and becoming who you wish to be. Recorded in LA with producer Justin Meldal-Johnsen (Paramore, Tegan and Sara), Roswell says they were blessed with "triple the amount of time" they had for their first album My Love is Cool. That eased a lot of pressure for the band – but also meant they had to set their own deadlines.

"One, because there was other things to do – we had to learn how to play those songs good enough for a tour and get the tour ready," says Roswell. "Two, because there is no end, really. Oh and three, because it's fucking expensive to be in a studio that long."

On top of making music, Wolf Alice have been active politically in the two years since their debut album. They threw their weight behind Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn in the UK election, performed at an anti-Tory concert, and last year co-organised a Bands 4 Refugees benefit show. Roswell says a small but vocal minority on social media seemed to think the band should keep music and politics separate – but she disagrees. "It's the beauty of social media – that you can express your feelings and your opinions without it even coming into play with your creativity," she says.

"I don't find it so easy to write about politics or social commentary in my music thus far, but I do also realise the huge potential that comes with having a platform, and if I feel strongly about something, then I feel a responsibility to use that."

When Wolf Alice play Laneway Festival 2018, it'll be their first time performing in New Zealand – which is particularly special for their drummer Joel Amey, whose sister just moved here. Roswell says they look forward to the challenge of both playing to their Kiwi fans – and trying to recruit new ones.

"We're really excited… Sometimes with festivals you play to a crowd that you could never begin to imagine in your own show," she says. "There's excitement in not knowing what it's going to be like."