Seminal British band WOLF ALICE have released their eagerly anticipated fourth album The Clearing alongside the focus track Just Two Girls.
Following a string of potent singles – Bloom Baby Bloom, The Sofa and most recently White Horses – each unveiling a distinct sonic direction, The Clearing arrives as a moment of crystalisation for one of the UK’s most inventive and emotionally charged bands. Written in Seven Sisters and recorded in LA with Grammy-winning producer Greg Kurstin, the album is a widescreen collection of songs that are bold in ambition, full of heart, and the band’s most refined work yet. It’s a classic pop / rock album that nods to the 70s while remaining rooted firmly in the present. If Fleetwood Mac wrote an album today in North London, you’d get somewhere close to this run of effortlessly grand tracks, each as distinct as the last.
The band celebrated the eve of the album release with a history-defining release show at the Dublin Castle in Camden, hallowed ground for a band whose impact on their native North London is impossible to measure. The celebration extended next door with a special pop-up event where fans got an early listen to the album and access to exclusive merchandise. Their performance on Jimmy Kimmel Live also aired the same evening, where the band played an incredible performance of the first single from the album Bloom Baby Bloom.
At its core, The Clearing is a record about arrival – not at a destination, but at a sense of peace with the journey. Whether that’s the self-interrogation of Thorns, the yearning nostalgia of Leaning Against The Wall or the raw intimacy of Play It Out, each track maps a point in the band’s evolution. A landmark album in both concept and execution, The Clearing is less a reinvention than a recognition of the band’s full capabilities: fierce yet fragile, playful yet profound. Front and centre is Rowsell’s ever-evolving poetic storytelling alongside an innate desire for Ellie, Joff, Theo and Joel to have fun, secure in their ambition and ability at this unique moment in time. From the rolling euphoria of Bread Butter Tea Sugar to the assuring acceptance of The Sofa, the record captures a band unafraid to push themselves further than ever before. This is Wolf Alice fully in command – no longer searching but stepping confidently into a new chapter.
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