'Visions Of A Life' Album Review

Wolf Alice are the oxymoron of the music industry, demonstrated by their ability to successfully be loud but sweet, soft but heavy. This London based four-piece prove with their second studio album that their contradictory sound is still a major focal point, it runs parallel with their confident and perhaps under-cooked expression of their potential. Visions of a Life seems to have stayed rather close in sound to their debut album Your Love Is Cool, with only gentle hints of a heavier change.

After a couple years spent writing and divulging themselves in charity work, the inevitable rage found from their discoveries has been intertwined into ‘Yuk Foo’, and less blatantly into other tracks such as ‘St Purple & Green’ and ‘Formidable Cool’. After becoming more publicly political in supporting Bands4Refugees, and with Ellie Rowsell helping to slowly revive girls’ interest and confidence to play guitar, a fierier album from Wolf Alice would have met higher expectations.

The juxta-positioning of erratic changes in sound helps set this quartet apart from other alt-indie bands. One minute you’re accompanying them into a euphoric zone guided by Rowsell’s ghostly vocals, then suddenly you’re being dragged into the hell hole of Wolf Alice’s fiery guitar twangs and spat lyrics. But that’s pretty much the same concept as their debut, Your Love is Cool, isn’t it? Only this time, we had higher hopes for more rage.

Even though their album isn’t as raucous as expected, Visions of a Life still happily sits under the category of a brilliant album and will be a triumphant comeback for Wolf Alice. The alt-storm created will continue to grow with time creating more of a spur around the indie quartet. Whilst staying close to their original, successful sound, Visions of a Life is beautifully, blatantly Wolf Alice and does exactly what it says on the tin