Wolf Alice: My Love Is Cool review – familiar but invigorating indie-rock

At this stage in music’s evolution, the arrival of a truly innovative indie album is about as likely as Morrissey demanding foie gras on his rider. So Wolf Alice’s debut should therefore be approached without cynicism: while the foundations of My Love Is Cool are 90s/00s shoegaze and grunge, the London quartet defibrillate their influences with the ambition of youth. It also feels like an album that’s been allowed time to gestate: despite being virtually veteran in buzzband terms, they have benefitted from beefing up their sound on tour – as evidenced on the heavy romance of Your Loves Whore, the dirty degenerate chug of You’re a Germ, or the cinematic Turn to Dust. The awkward introversion in the lyrics – which deal with relationship strife, creepy blokes, friendship, gender and the quest for eternal love – add a sense of emotional overload driven by late nights, blood pacts and wide-eyed wonder. It’s an invigorating debut with a gaunt, gallant identity of its own.