When this album first came out I was going through a very rough patch in my life. I think I may have cried listening to "No Hard Feelings" every day for a few weeks. I certainly used "Smile" to hype myself up for the long day ahead. Once I started to get better I thought listening to the album would bring back memories I'd rather leave behind but instead, it was the complete opposite. I can now listen to each song on the album and use them as reference points for how far I've come. Listening to it live in two weeks time is going to be an experience of a lifetime; I will definitely cry more than once.
Sonically this is such a grand song, it makes me hopeful for the future! Without properly listening to the lyrics it feels like the perfect coming of age soundtrack. It almost takes you out of reality for a few minutes.
Sometimes it feels like you're only meeting up with the same people each week out of routine and the fun you used to have was lost years ago. I certainly understand the feeling of not being able to look my "friends" in the eye anymore, "Are we still friends if all I feel is afraid?". Neither of us wants to be there but we're only doing it for the rest of our group.
I've always struggled to fit in, constantly second-guessing myself and worrying I'm not doing the right thing. Moving to a new place just amplifies all the feelings. Coming from the Isle of Man wherever I move in the world will always be a big change. I guess at the moment that change for me is coming to uni. The start was rocky but in the end, I found myself and my beautiful people, it just took time.
The Wolf Alice we all know and love. Imagine the feeling of singing this on stage, you'd feel on top of the world. This song put into words how I've always felt, I don't see the need in being liked by people who don't matter to me. "I wear my feelings on my sleeve, I suggested it", being vulnerable with the people who do matter is super important to me. If you don't like someone who's sensitive and still powerful then fuck off. People disregard your feeling when you express them freely, it's not my fault you're emotionally unavailable.
What a truly beautiful song, so delicately picked on the guitar and Joel's backing vocals give the song so much depth. I fall in love far too easily, not always romantically; I'll be dragged along in friendships too. It's such a shit feeling when someone uses you to just pass the time and drops you at any given moment when something new comes along. However, if I ever did the same thing to this person I'd be put through hell, "Bend your own rules". Experiences like this really put you off letting your guard down. When I was in the thick of it last summer this song was the perfect soundtrack, all I wanted was the people I love to see me and care.
What an escape from reality this song was/is! Many an afternoon was spent driving around listening to this on repeat when all I had was myself and music keeping me going. Having not seen a band live in over a year, all I could dream about was hearing this live (Hopefully dreams come true next week, please no lockdown Boris). This style of Wolf Alice was what first made me fall in love with them, reminiscent of You're a Germ's chorus.
Stood in a field in the pouring rain, I'll never forget the first time I heard this song. Two days prior I tried to take my life, it was truly all I needed from a song at that time. I hope I will never feel as alone as I did experiencing this song the first few times. I'll never not cry listening to it. The person I wanted to see me most in the world at that time left me for dead, "The threads that kept us together Were already wеaring thin". To this day I keep the mantra "No hard feelings", but maybe that does need to change.
As this previous summer went on I got better. I found some new friends, learned to enjoy time by myself and got outside more. Living on an island I spend a lot of my summer on the beach. This song encapsulates what I could consider being the perfect summer day. There's nothing better than laying back on the sand, sun shining this song in your ears, as the people you love the most are around you.
This album came out at just the right time. A song for every moment and feeling. I've always been a Wolf Alice fan but this really solidified my love for them.
Enjoy x
