There were high expectations placed on Wolf Alice for their third album, and somehow the band has managed to go above and beyond with Blue Weekend to create their best album to date.
Wolf Alice have always been good at creating a sound that is inherently their own - sitting somewhere between rock, indie, and alternative, and always going that one step further than it feels like anyone else is doing. However, with Blue Weekend, Wolf Alice has gained two things that their two previous albums may have been lacking: confidence and polish.
It feels like a step has really been taken forward, moving the band from indie up-and-comers to, well, rockstars.
The teens may have Olivia Rodrigo's latest release, but Wolf Alice is well and truly for the lost and confused 20somethings. On Delicious Things we see Rosenthall discuss the anxiety of feeling like an imposter in Hollywood, Smile focuses on the idea of other people's perceptions, with cutting lyrics like "I am what I am and I'm good at it / And you don't like me well that isn't fucking relevant", and then we have synth-drenched commentary about life in general on 'How Can I Make It Ok'
It's remarkable how well Rowselll's vocals fit on every song on the album, especially as they vary in tone and tempo so heavily. Rosenthall allows her voice to be delicate and bordering on operatic on the more low-key songs like 'No Hard Feelings', but transforms to a grizzly and intense form on heavier songs like 'Play The Greatest Hits'.
Blue Weekend jumps between slow and solemn tracks akin to Lana Del Rey, to rough around the edges rock, yet somehow manages to never stray too far from Wolf Alice's own sound. It's not easy to experiment whilst keeping it close enough to home to be recognisable, but Wolf Alice have done it with ease and across all different styles and genres.
The lyrical content of the album is really something to behold too. The stories are told in such a brutally yet beautifully honest way, and the lyrics allow you to be truly transported to the stories being told or the feelings being felt.
This commentary really could go on forever, but overall, Blue Weekend is a masterpiece. Wolf Alice perfectly show how you can just get better and better with every release. This release will be a difficult one to top in the future, but that's what was thought about their 2017 release Visions Of A Life and yet here we are.
RATING: 10/10