“Oh no… this phone thing makes me cry!”
Out of the darkness of Manchester’s AO Arena, near 21,000 glittering flashlights flicker in perfect harmony with the delicate, twinkling ivories of ‘The Last Man on Earth’.
A pure, surreal, written-in-the stars moment in which the arena evolves into the enchanting midnight sky- to the wholesome wonder of Ellie Roswell.
It was a marvel which became the embodiment of Wolf Alice’s opening show of The Clearing’s UK tour: sublime; magical; dazzling.
Theo Ellis’ shirt may have quoted “heaven can wait”, but with the soft, velvet snare pulse, Roswell’s spectral chorus and the gentle glimmer of the band’s celestial stage set- I swear we ascended into a perfect nirvana.
They say, “all the world’s a stage”, but for Roswell, this particular cosmic platform became her lawless runway, her patchwork portrait of complex womanhood and a portal into the band’s past and their effervescent future.
Effortlessly, she flaunts and fluently taunts in her striking glam-rock inspired body suit for the sexy, bold and playful beats of ‘Bloom Baby Bloom’ and ‘Bread, Butter, Tea, Sugar‘, a graceful seduction framed by the alluring glamour of glimmering tinsel tassel drapery.
Roswell is fluid; elegantly morphing into the more subtle, more gentle verses sought in ‘Safe From Heartbreak’, ‘Leaning Against The Wall’ and ‘Safe in the World’– an undeniably cool transition the rare few can pull off.
This bewitching medley of glitter and leather; raspy, raw vocals and silky-smooth high notes; moving from sultry struts to softly swaying encapsulates this intense spectrum of womanhood Roswell seamlessly depicts across the band’s timeless archive.
“If I want to wear my sparkly knickers, I will!”, she giggles, as we drift into the sleek romanticism of slow-burner ‘The Sofa’.
Roswell’s antithesis to the brash, fiery spirit later sparked in the empowered Blue Weekend’s ‘Smile’, and the mellow reflection of motherhood and aging with grace witnessed in ‘Play it Out’.
Shifting between aggression, angst and introspection at times can be hard to make pace with, yet in essence they define the daring versatility of Wolf Alice as a band in continual artistic and emotional evolution.
This, perhaps, is epitomized by the arena’s stylish rotating stage element- a signal of a band constantly in motion- a band coming full circle. Handing the limelight to a reminiscent Ellis, he recalls playing Fallowfield’s Trof back in 2014:
“I will f**king cry… thank you for making this happen for us… this is f**king crazy!”.
The quartet launch into the dreamy, soft-toned, nostalgic riff of ‘Bros’ and we are invited to share in memories of the four once upon a time only wistfully dreaming of playing arenas of this capacity
little did they know two headline shows at London’s O2 would one day be on the cards.
Descending into the heartache hit ‘Don’t Delete the Kisses’, Roswell leaves her red lipstick kiss on the glass hearts of 21,000, each full to the brim from dancing, raging, loving, hating, crying, laughing- but most of all living and breathing a band who ceaselessly dazzles and endlessly enthrals.
Wolf Alice with this Show, proved they are iconic and with this tour surely cement their place into music folklore, a household name, someone who’s will always hold reverance amongst music lovers.
Umbra Music 