Gig Review: Wolf Alice in Kingston
2nd July, Hippodrome Kingston
The four piece North London rock band made the journey to Kingston in South-West London for a one-off gig to celebrate the release of their critically acclaimed debut album, “My Love Is Cool” (Dirty Hit Records). The set came hot off the heels of an appearance on The Park Stage at Glastonbury with bassist Theo Ellis declaring the evening “a great Glastonbury hangover cure”. There were no signs of sluggishness as the band opened with the lively debut single “Fluffy” — maintaining a similarly energetic rock tone through hits such as “Giant Peach”, “Moaning Lisa Smile”, and old fan favourite “Bros”. The band were watched by a friendly 18+ audience who were as keen to make the most of the atmosphere in the small venue as they were to enjoy hits from the band’s album, which charted at number two on release last week.
The 40 minute set passed quickly, with personal highlights being the wonderfully melodic “Your Loves Whore” and the dark “Storms”. New album tracks such as “Lisbon” were also aired, although most of the crowd seemed to prefer their bigger hits or the buzz of creating moshpits in the red-lit nightclub, which has in recent weeks hosted Slaves and The Vaccines for similar album launch parties.
The band’s tracks lend themselves to live performance and have a distinct atmospheric indie tone to them. Although I have now managed to see them four times, until recently I never considered myself a big fan. However, since first seeing them support Swim Deep back in September 2013 they have upped their game, losing their shy-indie stage presence which can be so irritating and hard to watch. The have developed a confidence which perfectly fits the tracks they play and their audience. An increased appetite for the big occasion and confidence in their songs will stand them in good stead as they headline big venues, including Brixton Academy (5000 capacity) and Manchester’s Albert Hall (2000), on their largest ever UK tour this September.
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