Artist: Wolf People
Label: Jagjaguwar Records
Released: 2010
Length: 42:55
Rating: 4.6/5
On London’s purple hills, full of blue grass, orange trees and rainbow birds, Wolf People play for the black sheep. Sometimes sad, sometimes happy, slow laments here and bouncy singalongs there. All of it backed by countless colors that bleed through the ever-shifting shapes of the surroundings, of clouds that make up the London suburbs and of London suburbs that are really clouds. The British alternative scene recently got richer by one band that, with its clever freshness, hauls a brand-new decade into the chronology of psychedelic rock, right next to the sixties and seventies.
The British eclectics, of course, despite their modern take on innovative rock, don’t shy away from plenty of influences from the sixties and seventies of the last century. The prankster Captain Beefheart, the psychedelic Can, folk jazzers Pentangle and so on, a whole heap of true musical innovators, each one unique in their own way – they all chipped in somehow to the overall Wolf People sound. But the biggest parallel can probably be drawn with the legendary Jethro Tull, mainly thanks to the flute alongside distorted guitar passages and a distinctively peculiar vocal, though Wolf People push back on the “Tull” comparison – in interviews they were even surprised by it, since none of them is some kind of fanatical Tull fan. The use of woodwinds they admire mostly in the bands Breakout, Traffic, Family and Mighty Baby.
So if you know the bands listed, you can already picture the distant, hazy sounds of Wolf People’s debut “Steeple”. Anderson’s folk vocals and flute playing, a few surreal sonic curtains from Traffic and Family… but the moment we hear Sharp’s silky, goosebump-inducing vocals, we get amnesia and all that’s left is Wolf People. Ian Anderson who? Sharp’s soft, soothing voice, capable of incredible widths, heights and a few other dimensions, quickly sets up the band’s style, while countless other ingredients soak into the recognizability of the “wolf people”, who don’t prioritize just the vocals, which gives the band an inimitable personality.
So even the first steps into “Steeple” are uniquely intoxicating. Every track is different, yet from first to last they’re all Wolf People. Opener “Silbury Sands” greets us with maybe long-forgotten shivers down the spine that keep coming back at Sharp’s wonderful voice, and as we wake from the daydream we quickly notice, as said, the other ingredients in the Brits’ folky, distorted psychedelia. Occasional heavy guitar riffs hanging off a heap of smeared, pulsating effects, plus wild flute lines and solos, shape a sonic picture that engraves itself into the listener’s stream of thought, and the two merge into one consciousness. The album does (at just the right moments) hand us back to our own consciousness, but then the peaks – besides the opener, Tiny Circles, Morning Born (a personal favorite) and the twin epic finale Banks of Sweet Dundee – throw us right back into Sharp’s geographic dreams, nonexistent fantasy landscapes, pastel places with never-before-seen nature, and we never fight this realm of consciousness. And even if we tried, we’d fail.
Wolf People keep leaping across the line between innovation and retrospection, between modern and outdated, between something already heard with that homey feeling and something surprising and unknown. That line is always blurred, only apparent, always drawn anew somewhere else. All of it in symbiosis and symmetry with that sonic and lyrical painting of ever-new landscapes in our consciousness, where we’re likewise always safe, at home.
On the purple hills of London, covered in blue grass, filled with orange trees and overpopulated with rainbow birds, Wolf People are playing for black sheep. Sometimes in sad tones, other times with happy majors, mixing slow lamentations and funky dances, accompanied by a myriad of colours that slowly blend through the always changing forms of their surroundings, through clouds, which form London suburbs, and London suburbs, which are actually clouds in the sky. British alternative scene has gotten a band, which with its intelligent freshness pairs another century with the psychedelic rock of the sixties and seventies.
Of course, despite their modern sound, it is impossible for the British eclectics to deny the influence from the sixties and seventies of the last century. Jester Captain Beefheart, psychedelics Can, folk jazzers Pentangle and so on – all of these musicians did their job at contributing to the Wolf People’s sound. But the biggest parallel could be drawn with the legendary Jethro Tull, especially because of heavy use of flute alongside distorted guitar passages and inherently special vocals, though Wolf People deny the parallel with the “Tulls” – when they were compared to them, Jack Sharp was surprised, because none of the members is a Tull fanatic. They admire the use of the flute in bands like Breakout, Traffic, Family and Mighty Baby.
If you therefore know the mentioned bands, you can already picture the sounds of “Steeple”, Wolf People’s debut, though those sounds may still be distant and dulled. We imagine Anderson’s folk vocals and flute manoeuvres, surreal soundscapes of Traffic and Family… but as soon as Sharp’s silky, back-tingling vocals kick in, we get amnesia and all there is left is Wolf People. Anderson who? Sharp’s mellow and comforting voice, capable of exceptional widths, heights and other few dimensions, quickly establishes the band’s style, but at the same time numerous other admixtures entrain the image of Wolf People, who don’t prioritise only vocals, which gives the band recognizable and inimitable personality.
Even the first venture into “Steeple” is a unique daze. Although every track is different, each and every one of them shouts (or rather, howls) Wolf People. Opening “Silbury Sands” reunites us with the long lost tingling sensations on our backs, though after returning to reality from Sharp’s hypnotic vocals the listener quickly becomes aware of other ingredients that make up that Wolf People sound. Regular heavy guitar riffs, which rely on tons of fuzzy and sludgy effects, and wacko flute lines and solos form this sound picture that engraves itself into listener’s train of thoughts with which it forms one conscience. Their music lets us go to our own thoughts at times, but never frees us for real, especially because there are so many highlights – tracks like Tiny Circles, Morning Born (my personal favourite) and the epic duo Banks of Sweet Dundee are definitely some of the album peaks. Sharp’s geographical dreams, non-existent fantasy landscapes, pastel coloured places with never before seen nature… we never want to leave that.
Wolf People are continuously crossing the line between innovation and retrospective, between modernity and obsolescence, between something already heard with that homey feeling and something surprising and unknown. This line is never clear, always created from thin air, always in a new place. Working perfectly in symbiosis and symmetry with those sound and lyrical pictures of always newly created landscapes in our mind, where we are always safe, always home.
Line-up
Jack Sharp – guitar, vocals
Joe Hollick – guitar
Tom Watt – drums
Daniel Davis – bass guitar
Tracklist
01. Silbury Sands
02. Tiny Circle
03. Painted Cross
04. Morning Born
05. Cromlech
06. One By One From Dorney Reach
07. Castle Keep
08. Banks of Sweet Dundee Pt. 1
09. Banks of Sweet Dundee Pt. 2
