Wolf Alice add more accolades to their year at Reading

One moment sums up every Reading & Leeds, and it usually involves hundreds spilling out a tent waiting to catch the band they’ve been waiting for all year. So much has happened for Wolf Alice in the last few months, but there’s still room for another pinch-yourself experience. It doesn’t strike straight away at their NME/Radio 1 Stage set, but it kicks like a raging bull by the end.

‘Giant Peach’ was made for this festival and this tent. A Saturday afternoon slot only adds to the occasion. When the song was first released - all build towards the riff that’s owned 2015 - it still seemed like a risk for a band with ‘Bros’ and ‘Moaning Lisa Smile’ as their go-to numbers. Here, it truly belongs. You’d be hard pressed to find another seven minutes to define festival season like this.

Things don’t always hit a perfect high. ‘The Wonderwhy’ still needs time to click and ‘Your Love’s Whore’ takes a while to skyrocket. All the same, there’s more round the corner. Brixton Academy, venues five times that size eventually, another slot at Reading & Leeds next year. This has been Wolf Alice’s year, and despite the fact that Reading often has a habit of ‘making bands’, this is just a small jot on the radar.