‘If I want to wear my sparkly knickers, I will!” Ellie Rowsell giggles into the mic as she struts into The Sofa, a stylish 70s slow-burner about making guilt-free decisions and watching “reruns on the TV” without judgment. Tonight there is no sign of a settee-induced slumber, as the sparkling singer writhes around on the stage in a tight black leotard with red hearts strategically zig-zagged across her torso. She has long since abandoned her tousled blond locks for something closer to PJ Harvey on a glam-rock bender.
It’s a fun, snazzy reinvention, and it bodes well for the audience. Wolf Alice have worn many skins and shed them without sentiment – it has come to be expected of a band with more than 15 years of performing, who began as the north London folk duo of Rowsell and guitarist Joff Oddie before evolving into a fully-fledged four-piece. There are grunge snarls in their debut, My Love Is Cool; 90s alt-fuzz in the Mercury Prize winner Visions of a Life and Blue Weekend. But their current arena tour shows that the full-throttle cabaret theatre of The Clearing may just be their most complete incarnation yet.
