British indie rock outfit Wolf Alice have released the second single from their upcoming album Blue Weekend – the moody, heavy-riffing Smile.
Luring listeners in with a wailing synth sustain, the track’s main motif soon explodes, combining a gain-drenched electric guitar and wall-rumbling bass guitar hook with lead vocalist Ellie Rowsell’s formidable range-spanning vocals.
Above the riotous wall of sound, Smile serves up a silky, hypnotic lyrical flow, which, in the closing exchanges of the track, gives way to high-gain galore in the form of thrash-y six-string stabs, raucous drum runs and envelope filter-tinged guitar riffs.
The track was released alongside an accompanying music video directed by Jordan Hemmingway, whose credits include Gucci, Raf Simons and Commes Des Garcons, and who directed the video for Wolf Alice's previous single The Last Man On Earth.
Of the new track, which was inspired by Rowsell’s desire to fight back against those who try to define her, the Wolf Alice leader said, “This is one of the songs we wrote thinking that we would play live.
“I miss that feeling of singing on stage,” she continued. “It’s like screaming into a pillow or something – and you can get away with being more nasty. There’s a whole other part of me missing.”
Smile follows up the previously released The Last Man On Earth – the lead single taken from the Mercury Prize winning band’s hugely anticipated third full-length studio album.
Blue Weekend is available to preorder now, and will be released June 11 via Dirty Hit/RCA Records.
