Wolf Alice, “Blue Weekend.”

“I am what I am and I’m good at it/ And you don’t like me, well that isn’t fucking relevant.”

Of all the moments of swagger on Blue Weekend by Wolf Alice–and there are quite a number those to choose from–singer Ellie Rowsell’s honest assessment of her own skills on “Smile” is the clearest and unmistakable signal that the London quartet has entered a bold and confident new era. The defiance and the delivery is certainly a match for the muscular space grunge riff that drives the track, but what makes it land even harder is the line before it, where Rowsell finds power in her vulnerability as declaring that “sensitive” is her “perfect adjective.” 

Not that there’s ever been a shortage of poise in Wolf Alice. The band’s 2015 debut, My Love is Cool, was stacked with sky-bursting anthems blending the dynamics and unpredictability of The Pixies with the layered atmospheres that evoked the Cocteau Twins. Mercury-Prize-winning follow-up Visions of a Life (2018) raised the stakes with more genre hopping, sonic experimentation and a true masterpiece of a single in “Don’t Delete The Kisses.” Despite the momentum and all the acclaim, Wolf Alice projected itself as shy and a bit insular, somewhat caught off guard by its own success. The band’s interviews were awkward experiences, and Rowsell’s lyrics tilted toward character studies or fuzzy recollections. The band was not hard to love, but not exactly easy to know.

This time, as they say, it’s personal. And that’s why Blue Weekend is more than just a leap forward–it’s a front-to-back musical and emotional triumph.

Most of the songs are in first-person, and there’s no mistaking them as anything but documentary-style retellings of Rowsell’s real life experiences. In the spiraling sexual ecstasy of “Feeling Myself,” she goes as far as referencing her own first name, singing, “Keep my name on your lips/ Let the double ‘L’ feel like a kiss.” Whisper-rapping, “I don’t belong here, though it’s really quite fun” on “Delicious Things,” she retells a story about a coked-up opportunist coming on to her at a Hollywood party. She muses over whether to hook up with him and wonders whether she should just go find drugs of her own before the song ends like a hazy comedown after an epic night out, with a still buzzed Ellie Rowsell calling her mom over hazy guitars and lonely piano.

Of course, none of this would work were it not for the fearlessness and chemistry of the entire band. Rowsell, guitarist Joff Oddie, bassist Theo Ellis and drummer Joel Amey were reportedly days away from finishing the album in Brussels when they found themselves essentially trapped together in the studio as the city went into COVID lockdown. With little else to do, they dove into every last detail of the album with producer Markus Dravs. The result is a stunning, textured and self-assured collection of songs and sounds with nuance, warmth and typical Wolf Alice variety.

The sometimes drastic shifts in mood and style keep Blue Weekend from sticking in one particular mood for very long, which gives every song its own moment to shine. From the ultra-aggressive “Play The Greatest Hits” to the plaintive breakup detailed on “No Hard Feelings” to the effortless pop perfection of “How Can I Make it OK,” the album doesn’t dwell in emotions. It confronts them head on before moving on.  “Last Man On Earth” does all of this within one song. Starting on a simple piano and vocal foundation, it follows power ballad convention to build into something bigger midway through. Formulaic? Perhaps. But even though you know the rocket is going to launch, you’re still in awe when it soars.

Blue Weekend is a self-possessed full-spectrum emotional journey. It comforts. It challenges. It reveals more with each listen. It’s somehow even better at the end of 2021 than when it came out in June. Even for a band that started out strong and kept topping itself, this is a breathtaking document of Wolf Alice coming into its own. Or as Rowsell might say, they are what they are, and they’re good at it.

Follow Skott Bennett at Twitter.com/skottbennett.