Wolf Alice’s new confidence shows in ‘Clearing’

U.K. quartet’s latest studio album reflects their growth as writers as well as performers.

- By Lina LEcARO

WOLF ALICE honed their sound on “The Clearing,” recorded in L.A., even as they experimented with it.

(RACHEL FLEMINGER HUDSON)

After 15 years, four records and a buzz-making barrage of shows, tours and festivals, the moody, multifaceted music of north London’s Wolf Alice is huge inthe U.K., thanks to uniquely seductive soundscapes, visceral live shows and arelentless hunger for experimentation that melds rock, shoegaze and alternative pop.

With their latest studio album, “The Clearing,” the members are primed for the next level of success in the US., and it comes via songs that reflect their growth as individuals and as a collective.

Consisting of lead singer Ellie Rowsell, guitarist Joff Oddie, bassist Theo Ellis and drummer Joel Amey, Wolf Alice provides both feminine and masculine perspectives on life that feel resonant and real, with sonic approaches that can go from raging one moment to restrained the next. They've honed their sound even as they've continued to experiment with it. The result is exciting for them and for fans, now more than ever.

“This tour has been incredible. It’s definitely been the busiest and had the biggest shows we've ever played in America,” Ellis told The Times via Zoom, noting the band’s Wiltern date in Los Angeles on Monday had nearly sold out.

Wolf Alice’s connection to L.A. is especially significant at this phase of its members’ careers. “The Clearing” was recorded here with famed producer Greg Kurstin (Adele, Miley Cyrus), who brought his pop sensibilities to the project, even as he encouraged the band members to follow their own eclectic instincts, dipping into synthy, dancy elements and balladry with bite.