Wolf Alice

i loooooooooooooove “space and time”

^ reminds me of Eno! "Needles in the Camel's Eye". Could mash well together on a playlist

I hate to say it but I'm once again ambivalent about the album as a whole. I still need to gives it some more listens. There best work is getting better, however. Planet Hunter is probably my favorite Wolf Alice song so far. I'd rather see them combining their modes, like that, rather than working very dreamy some of the time and very screamy the other part of the time. Not too thrilled with the mostly spoken sections either. Once again, Ellie is a solid enough vocalist that she should be singing rather than speech-singing, and preferably without a ton of effects.

Listening to Planet Hunter again and I find it hard to believe this song even exists as a new song in 2017. Instant classic.

Lol rudipherous when I heard this album I thought you're not gonna like at least 3 songs here (which feature the spoken sections)

preferably without a ton of effects.

My one criticism is that her voice gets buried in the reverb a lot more on this one.

I was looking forward to this album despite not really enjoying the first one, because you could see the potential was there for them to do something really great, and this sounded terrific on first listen.

It's an uneven record (the downside of going for variety, laudable as that is) - and yeah too much reverb - but "Beautifully Unconventional" and the last three songs are all fantastic.

Whose voice does she remind me of on Space + Time? I can't quite place it and it's driving me nuts.

Really burned out on this one by overplaying. Still love heavenwards, planet hunter, beautifully unconventional and don't delete the kisses. First one had a ton of bonus tracks which gave it a lot of playability

After helping Labour beat the odds in the election, it's great to see @WolfAliceMusic doing the same in the charts. https://t.co/H3sdVFpZVr

— Jeremy Corbyn (@jeremycorbyn) October 5, 2017

The Absolutely Right Boy

Thanks Jeremy! I did wonder...

Whose voice does she remind me of on Space + Time? I can't quite place it and it's driving me nuts.

― how's life, Monday, October 2, 2017 4:44 PM (six days ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

'Neko Case fronting Trompe le Monde-era Pixies' is the best I can come up with here.

Pros: The opening track is amazing, as is 'Don't Delete the Kisses' ...
Cons: This record has 'Beautifully Unconventional' on it, which is fucking awful.

thanks

Most of this record ranges from very good to amazing, though the production is wretched in places.

"beautifully unconventional" rules

'Sadboy' doesn't sound as great as it should, and 'After the Zero Hour' is a bit of a snoozer, but 'Heavenward', 'Yuk Foo', 'Don't Delete the Kisses', 'Planet Hunter', 'Space and Time' and the title track are all great.

I can see 'Formidable Cool' and 'St. Purple & Green' growing on me further - but aside from some shonky production here and there and one out-and-out stinker, it's a good record.

Sky musings is the only dud here

I love pretty much the whole album. It took me a while to get on board with some of the songs but after a few listens really began to enjoy them all - Sky Musings included, which feels like one of the songs off the last Grimes record to me. The only thing that's jarring to me is the chorus of Beautifully Unconventional. The verse and prechorus are both amazing and catchy, but the chorus I just don't get where they're coming from.

I forgot how amazing Planet Hunter is. They really deserve credit for amazing songs like this, even if the album is uneven. Lots of classic rock acts who recorded great songs seem pretty uneven to me on the album level. This songs takes me back to older feelings about life (having basically nothing to do with the lyrics).

band name had me thinking this was a metal act for a long time, just listened to Don't Delete the Kisses and what a jam, why did I not hear of this band before all the eoy lists

Honestly I don't think this album is uneven at all, with the exception of Space + Time which sounds like it had been stuck down the back of a Camden sofa since 1995.

better than the album version IMO, this is the one that reminds me of Throwing Muses the most i think

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6eohMq7ACI

even this is pretty decent

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h3jl6srja_8

That's a great version of Planet Hunter.

(yt made me click through and there's an extremely uncomfortable interview with Ellie on there, dang)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LwfFGk52VQs

Meant this one. She's very thoughtful and seems to fight her way through what seems more like a therapy session than an interview. Journalist is weird.

i think i've seen every live version of giant peach that's on youtube

Interviews from naybob radio stations asking 'why's the album called that?' type questions to hungover sunburned indie bands in cabins backstage at Europoean festivals seem to litter You Tube these days.

it's not an uneven album, it just feels like two very distinct directions that don't meet anywhere in the middle. I don't dislike "Yuk Foo" but when you've got something as incredible as "Don't Delete The Kisses" in your oeuvre I don't know why wouldn't follow further down that road.

'Yuk Foo' is just fine where it is - the 90s alt-rock records this reminds me of would roam all over the place. 'Siamese Dream' wouldn't work if it wasn't equal parts 'Quiet' and 'Mayonaise' and this feels like it's trying to capture the spirit of records like that, even if the lyrical approach is totally different. 'Don't Delete The Kisses' is amazing but other bands could offer you a whole album's worth of that, and probably will.

It's a great record but it's the abrupt turn into more florid territory from 'Sadboy' onwards that really makes it for me. It reminds me a bit of 'Ritual De Lo Habitual' in that regard, in which it seems content to play it at least vaguely straight for a long time and then throws everything it has at you.

i didn't really care for Yuk Foo as the lead single but it's definitely better in context

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I095rfA_UaU

Yeah, saw that. There's also a cover of Tim Buckley's Song to the Siren up on spotify. They're both ok, I guess. I'm not a huge fan of covers that are just half the band in a radio station studio or whatever. Esp with Song to the Siren, I was hoping to hear what kind of an effects-laden treatment they might give it.

Also your comment about terrible youtube festival interviews is otm.

^^ yes.

"Planet Hunter" is nice but sounds nothing like Throwing Muses, wtf

Katherine and piecesx, I thought about this conversation while listening to the Melkbelly record. Have you guys checked them out? Their singer sounds like Kristin Hersh (50 Foot Wave-era) to me. Others on the thread are pointing more towards Kim/Kelly Deal, but when you add in the melodies, I think a Hersh comparison is undeniable.

Melkbelly - Nothing Valley

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=486sTKx9nK4

really nailed it

Sadboy was the track it took me the longest to like from the new one, but after about 5 listens I glommed on. When I saw them last week, it felt like the drummer started it off at the wrong tempo: way too slow. About halfway through the song, when the downtuned vocals and sing-along come in, it all came together and hit hard. That beginning part must be a little tricky to get the vibe right. Only song they played where I felt taken out of it. Everything else was killer.

Don't Delete the Kisses is getting a Charli XCX remix, due out tomorrow 5 pm GMT on Beats1

oh awesome!

very nice, it always reminded me of "You're the One" or "Stay Away"

sneak peak

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hn21chZFg_g

Just listened to the studio version of the Charli XCX mix because I've been on an XCX kick after the year end polls. The live cover felt desultory and for some reason I just figured that the studio version would be more of the same, but I ended up liking it a lot. A nice companion piece to the original.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bg1ocz7TUL4

!

heh my old group supported these once at our tiny social club in north east england. they wanted to drag us on tour across uk. its funny how big theyve gotten. i called the singer out at the time on stealing her steez from annie hardy of giant drag -- she conceded.

Which giant drag material is worth seeking out?