Wolf Alice have recently been touring their new album ‘The Clearing’ to their biggest stages yet, with striking confidence and their signature, aesthetic style. The band played in Glasgow’s SSE Hydro on the 8th of December, their last time performing in Glasgow; selling out three nights at the Barrowland Ballroom in 2022.
The evening began with support band Sunflower Bean, who took the stage at 8 pm to debut tracks from their new album, ‘Mortal Primetime.’ Lead singer of Sunflower Bean, Julia, embraced the Glasgow crowd, expressing their delight at being back. They performed their single ‘New Love’ relishing in their nostalgic return, having supported Wolf Alice at their last Glasgow gig eight years prior.
Their connection to Glasgow was revealed as Julia shared a personal anecdote, dedicating the show to her Glaswegian grandmother who would have been 101 on the day. As they closed the set, a toast of Buckfast to the crowd followed by single ‘Nothing Romantic’ and a finishing statement, “We’re from New York, but we’re a little Glaswegian too,” setting a warm tone for the night.
At 9 pm anticipation filled the arena for Wolf Alice. Their entrance was nothing short of theatrical, launching into new tracks ‘Thorn’ followed by ‘White Horses,’ the stage bathed in blue lighting and fog, creating an ethereal feeling that complemented their music. The setlist was a curated journey through their discography, blending rocky and funky guitar rhythms seamlessly. Their single ‘Two Girls’ was a standout, with the band reminiscing about their fun times in Glasgow, most recently; the night before where they revisited Glasgow’s Nice N Sleazy’s. A mirror ball gleamed above, shimmering and casting a magical glow over the band.
Before playing their recent hit single ‘Sofa’, lead singer Ellie spoke about the song’s theme of embracing multifaceted identities, admitting, “This song is about being all the things at once and I’m always learning, sometimes I like chamomile tea but I also like a Buckfast.” An experiment (first tried in Leeds) where the band used “screaming therapy,” encouraging the crowd to yell parts of the chorus of ‘Safe From Heartbreak’. The group came together at the front of the stage to sing a vocals only version of the single, where Glasgow followed instructions, yelling “you f***** with my feelings” with the most ridiculous wage of frustration and anger behind it.
Ellie sang with a loud microphone with dramatic effect for ‘Greatest Hits’, igniting that chaotic energy carried in their last previous albums, which mark a sense of feeling reckless contrasting the tracks in ‘The Clearing’, whereas they feel healing and accepting. The differentiation in their sound has evidently changed and grown with them as a band. The setlist then moved into a more mellow direction as the band slowed things down with ‘Silk’ from their 2017 album ‘My Love is Cool.’
Returning for an encore, Wolf Alice delivered a sad, emotional song, with the lyrics “you’d like a light to shine on you” from “Last Man on Earth,” resonating deeply with audience flashlights waving in the air. In a heartfelt conclusion, Ellie told the crowd, “All we want is to impress people from Scotland, you’re so cool,” before launching into ‘Don’t Delete the Kisses.’ The nostalgia felt was shared as fans yelled the lyrics back at the band, teary eyed and proud to see how far the band have come to play such a big show.
Wolf Alice managed to create an emotional experience in Glasgow with a range of nostalgic songs and new releases that would be hard to replicate. Their next appearance will be at Glasgow’s 2026 TRNSMT, playing main stage where fans around Scotland will see them take on the infamous festival.