An Interview with Wolf Alice
Wolf Alice are poised to make their breakout from buzz band to perennial mainstay. With recent performances on the Conan Show, and a sold out concert at Le Poisson Rouge in New York City the band is ready to breakaway from London and into the larger scene. TTL spoke with drummer Joel Amey about how things have changed for the band, and what inspired the lyrics for the new album.
TTL: How has the music changed or started to come together as you’ve moved from making EPs to finally releasing an LP?
Joel Armay: I think we’ve grown as songwriters and players. I certainly couldn’t play drums in the early days! But overtime and playing live we’ve picked up a few things and we hope for the album to be a step forward from what’s come before.
TTL: How does having a female front singer allow your sound to develop differently than with a male singer?
JA: Ellie has an incredible range and power and I’m always super excited to give her a song cause I never know where it’s gonna go. As a singer myself I love working out harmonies with her and hearing her melodies.
JA: I’m not sure we’re trying to keep the folk element around, but I still love harmonies and the textures that you can find in folk so maybe the element is in there, somewhere!
TTL: How has the band responded to early streaming of the album?
JA: It’s exciting to see people know the words to the newer songs! I’m just pumped to get the record out there and see the reactions to the songs live.
JA: I definitely love Husker Du!! But for our record each song is pretty different to one another, we don’t have a theme that links them.
JA: I think there is a lot of hope in the album, you might just need to dig a little deeper to get there. Which, itself is a metaphor for holding on in there and the hope that you’re looking to find in the album.Interview by: Samuel Hernandez
Photo by: Emily Cheng
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