Wolf Alice - My Love Is Cool Review

PONDERING LOVE AS HAIR FLOWS FROM THE CONVERTIBLE

Talk about deceptive. On first listen, Wolf Alice's debut My Love Is Cool presents itself as another run-of-the-mill genre clash pouring over ill-fated romance. Even the title generates eye-rolls. However, upon repeated listens, the melodic fusion blasts with radiance, offering countless variabilities to all end with one goal in mind; enjoyment. One wouldn't expect such after 'Turn To Dust,' the LP's opening track, and a slog in acoustic Gothic Rock. If it weren't for 'Swallowtail' - the sole track led by Joel Amey, and second worst - nothing would find common ground with the slow burn intro.

Thankfully, 'Bros' flips the switch with lightning efficiency, predating acts like Let's Eat Grandma and Hatchie with bubbly Dream Pop fused through an exultant House lens. Here, comparisons to Chvrches' lead Lauren Mayberry can be heard in Ellie Rowsell's voice. It's rather generic, to be honest, playing up that bubblegum twee schtick, obsessed with fleeting, summer crush romanticism. 'Lisbon' handles this the best, infusing The Bones Of What You Believe's Synthpop with heavy Rock guitars and hysterical avidity. Elsewhere, we get a taste of Lana Del Rey's lustrous femininity ('Silk,' 'Soapy Water'), again strewn with 90's Alternative Rock sensibility. In each comparison, Wolf Alice beef up otherwise-stale myopia, allowing the hits to feel larger than life. Anthems for teenage angst. And while that's the general theme of My Love Is Cool, I can't go without mentioning the curtailed finale to 'Wonderwhy' (before the hidden track), wherein Rowsell drops the animated distress for a stop-gap rap indebted to early 2000's Pop Punk. It's compact bliss oozing with self-assured coolness.