Review Summary: An excellent and well-crafted album that sees Wolf People build on their brand of folk-influenced psychedelic rock.
It could be argued that over the last few years the psychedelic rock scene has enjoyed its biggest rise in popularity since its heyday in the late 60’s/early 70’s. Bands such as Tame Impala and Pond have enjoyed huge success with their contemporary brand of 60’s influenced psychedelia, while countless other artists have emerged, exploring various avenues within the ever expanding psychedelic genre. As you would expect many of these artists lean heavily on their influences, sometimes hovering close to the retro rock tag, while at the other end of the spectrum, there are a few more forward thinking acts that focus on a more contemporary and experimental sound. Wolf People fit somewhere between the two.
Wolf People originally started out as a one man project by multi-instrumentalist Jack Sharp but have since developed into a 4 -piece, with Sharp bringing in musicians Joe Hollick (guitar), Tom Watt (drums) and Daniel Davies (bass). The material found on their first full length release, Tidings, was recorded and put together whilst the act was still a solo project and consists of a number of singles, heavily influenced by 60’s psychedelic rock, put together alongside some short experimental pieces. These short interludes included old tape recordings, some of which were of dead relatives, and highlight Sharp’s more forward thinking and experimental side. The band’s first proper studio album came in the form of the superb Steeple, released in 2010, which saw Sharp (accompanied by his recently recruited band members) start to develop his own sound. The sound heard on Steeple was a mix of 70’s style psychedelic rock and medieval flavoured folk, a sound that the band would continue to explore and build upon on this year’s release, Fain.
However, there are some distinct differences between the musical styles heard on Steeple and those found on Fain. The most apparent difference is one that is reflected in the respective albums’ cover art. While Steeple was a rather colourful and light hearted affair with plenty of uplifting melodies, Fain has a much darker and somewhat sombre feel to it. The darker atmosphere of the music is also reflected in Fain’s lyrical themes, not least during the album’s opening track Empty Vessels, featuring lyrics such as;
“I have been here for ten thousand years, waiting for the storm to draw me out, in the hurricane’s minacious eye, I sit and wait”. Another of the album’s key characteristics is Sharp’s somewhat melancholic vocal style, which helps to give his delivery of such lines extra sincerity.
Lengthier tracks such as the excellent When the Fire is Dead in the Grate (one of three tracks to hover around the 7 minute mark) see the band exploring their more experimental side, with its closing instrumental passage featuring some excellent layered instrumentation that is both folky and psychedelic in equal measure, with lively mandolins mingling with some very accomplished duel guitar playing. It is during these more adventurous moments that Wolf People really excel. In contrast some of the album’s shorter tracks suffer slightly from a lack of memorable moments, the most obvious of which is the rather forgettable Answer, which fortunately is saved by some very nice, almost Peter Green-esque guitar playing.
The album reaches its peak with the epic Hesperous, a song which encapsulates the album’s dark atmosphere, with its brooding, almost eerie verses and intense fuzz-drenched instrumentation that dominates the latter stages of the song. The most intriguing section of the album comes in the form of closing duo, Thief and NRR. The former tells the tale of a criminal, set in historic times, preparing to face his trial, while musically the song is a mixture of melancholic folk and occasional fuzzy psychedelia. The song’s outro stands out as one of the most memorable moments on the album featuring an overpoweringly heavy bass sound accompanied by some heavily distorted guitar playing, providing an unexpected finale to an otherwise rather subdued, yet captivating song. NRR continues very much from where Thief’s outro left off, with an emphasis on raw, fuzz-laden musicianship, ending the album with its heaviest dose of psychedelia.
One thing that is refreshing about Wolf People is their ability to make music that relies very much on the influence of late 60’s and 70’s psychedelic rock but at the same time maintain a contemporary edge. This is perhaps more true of Fain than any of Wolf People’s previous material. While this album might not have the instant impact that the slightly more accessible Steeple has, upon repeated listens it reveals itself as an equally enjoyable album. Many of Fain’s best moments and standout qualities are easy to overlook at first and only reveal themselves after several listens, such as the gloriously climatic, yet restrained closing verse of Athol or the effective use of female backing vocals which are used so effectively during Theif.
Overall Fain shows that Wolf People have managed to refine their already well-established sound whilst at the same time incorporating some more experimental elements. However there is one disappointing element to Fain that is difficult to overlook. The album’s more musically adventurous parts are undoubtedly some of the stand out moments and with some of these sections it feels as though the band could have either taken these elements further or incorporated more of them into the album, which at times feels a tad unnecessarily safe. One thing that Fain does show in abundance though, is huge potential for the future, with many of the ideas expressed throughout the album providing exciting prospects for future experimentation.
Perhaps one of Fain’s best qualities is its very distinct atmosphere, which with its darker tone gives the album a totally different feel and character to Steeple, despite sharing many musical and stylistic similarities. One thing’s for sure, if you were to ever find yourself back in time on a dull, rainy day in medieval Britain with nothing about your person other than a sword and some LSD, you’d be hard pressed to find a better soundtrack than Fain.
