Wolf Alice offer a glimpse behind the velvet curtain on playfully dominant "Bloom Baby Bloom"
Long before bands like Fontaines D.C. formalized the current alt rock revival with a parade of high-profile releases that drew inspiration from the musical trends of the 1990s, Wolf Alice had been championing the fashion as if it had never faded from the cultural consciousness with a muscular veracity that positioned the band as leaders of a disparate but slowly burgeoning cadre of likeminded artists. Returning to the head of the pack with their latest single, “Bloom Baby Bloom,” Wolf Alice continue to flex their bonafides with a unique and dynamic take on the alternative tradition that provides irrefutable proof of their well earned alpha status.
Propelled on a bouncy piano riff, “Bloom Baby Bloom” establishes its playfully dominant presence with an air of magnetic immediacy and campy theatricality, setting the stage for a composition that stretches and pulls from center in thrilling tangents of brilliant unpredictability. Tribal rhythms join the mix, building into a stratospheric explosion led by a massive guitar that expands with supernova force, unleashing a nebula of tumbling instrumentals that unfold in all directions like a polychromic nebula of sound before simmering back into a rhythmic groove that carries through the entirety of the track’s DNA.
“Bloom Baby Bloom” is a showcase for Ellie Roswell’s formidably vigorous vocal chops, from perfectly executed melodic passages to emotive bursts of throat rending screams her performance runs the full gamut of expression to underscore a tumultuous journey towards self-actualization. From the opening lines that position the lyrical narrative within the burlesque framework of a performer establishing provocative dominance over an enraptured voyeur willfully submissive to the instruction of the object of their lustful attentions, Wolf Alice quickly pull back the velvet curtain. “Look at me trying to play it hard, I’m so sick and tired of trying to play it hard” offers a glimpse of backstage vulnerability that humanizes the leather and-latex posturing with dreams of a different life, reinforced by a final expression of hopeful resilience that closes out the track with chin held high, “breathe baby breathe, every flower needs to grow up by the weeds.”
The Colin Solal Cardo directed video for “Bloom Baby Bloom” employs a small army of leotard clad dancers arrayed casually around the band in boiler room formation but tempers the raw underground authenticity of those sets with the expertly Ryan Heffington choreographed predictability of an off-Broadway stage show. The Fosse-eque cabaret builds in time with the music, enhancing the overarching thematic beats with a visual element that emphasizes both the physical demands of a life lived beneath the spotlight and the emotional fortitude required to survive, thrive, and bloom beyond the teeming substrate of spoiled earth.
The Clearing releases August 29. Preorder and presave the album here. Stream “Bloom Baby Bloom” on Spotify and follow Wolf Alice on Instagram.
Upcoming Shows
19th May 2025 - Set Theatre - Kilkenny, Ireland
20th May 2025 - Cyprus Avenue - Cork, Ireland
21st May 2025 - Dolans Warehouse - Limerick City, Ireland
24th May 2025 - Radio 1's Big Weekend - Liverpool, United Kingdom - TICKETS
29th Jun 2025 - Glastonbury Festival - Pilton, United Kingdom
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17th Nov 2025 - Palladium - Cologne, Germany, Germany - Pre-sale
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20th Nov 2025 - Tonhalle - Munich, Germany, Germany - Pre-sale
21st Nov 2025 - Den Atelier - Luxembourg City, Luxembourg - Pre-sale
23rd Nov 2025 - AFAS Live - Amsterdam, Netherlands - Pre-sale
24th Nov 2025 - Forest National - Brussels, Belgium - Pre-sale
25th Nov 2025 - Le Zénith - Paris, France - Pre-sale
28th Nov 2025 - AO Arena - Manchester, United Kingdom - Pre-sale
29th Nov 2025 - Utilita Arena - Birmingham, United Kingdom - Pre-sale
1st Dec 2025 - Utilita Arena - Cardiff, United Kingdom - Pre-sale
3rd Dec 2025 - The O2 - London, United Kingdom - Pre-sale
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10th Dec 2025 - 3Arena - Dublin, Ireland