Review: Wolf Alice at Manchester O2 Apollo

Above any other show I’ve reviewed, Wolf Alice’s trip up to Manchester is the one that has provoked the most reaction.

News that I’d bagged the job for one of two sold out nights at the O2 Apollo was met with lip-curling chagrin from multiple continents - the kind of impact the London foursome now has is evident.

It's a smaller venue for the size of the response, but that made what would be a magical wander through Wolf Alice wonderland all the more enchanting and intimate.

READ MORE: Review: The Book of Mormon at the Palace Theatre

Their Blue Weekend tour comes in the wake of their critically acclaimed album. A swirling trip through saccharine Hollywood parties and bittersweet breakups alike, it’s a cinematic journey which firmly cemented itself as one of the finest albums of the last year.

And after an Omicron-postponed set of January dates, festival staples - and Mercury Prize-winners - Wolf Alice are back out on the road, coming to Manchester for March 3 and 4.

Kicking off with the explosive ‘Smile’, Wolf Alice smacked the crowd with the star-powered confidence of a band which has remained rooted in its own style - not least with the snarling the fan-favourite line, ‘if you don’t like me, well, that isn’t f***ing relevant’.

Frontwoman Ellie Rowsell’s raucous laughter on stage through ‘You’re A Germ’ was yet another manifestation of Wolf Alice’s brazen, yet deeply personal approach to the world’s all-too repetitive ‘guitar music’ scene

Like a general marshalling an army into battle, Ellie is in charge of this show and we’re doing it her way, with the rendition of ‘Formidable Cool’ coming complete with a ‘dare you’ attitude spilling over with every lyric.

Through the shoegaze-ier tracks from their latest album -