Wolf Alice, The O2, London review • DIY Magazine

Wolf Alice are hardly strangers to the big leagues; they’ve played Glasto’s iconic Pyramid (twice), are festival main stage mainstays, and supported Harry Styles on his Love On Tour European run back in 2022, too. And yet, in many ways, they’re still a band with whom arenas feel somehow at odds.

Maybe it’s because, even now, the decade-old squalls of ‘You’re A Germ’ immediately evoke sweaty basements and pub back rooms; maybe it’s because the candid confessions of ‘The Last Man On Earth’ seem too intimate for so many ears; maybe it’s because, despite their objective critical and commercial success (including an astonishing 100% hit rate on the Mercury Prize shortlist), they still feel as unspoiled and vital as ever.

It’s both fitting and remarkable that this - the second of two sold-out hometown turns at The O2 - not only captures the spirit of Wolf Alice’s DIY early days, but amplifies it, such that the dome’s corporate, cavernous space becomes positively electric. Eschewing elaborate on-screen visuals or conceptual backdrops in favour of low-maintenance, high-impact stars and spangles (think MOTH Club’s metallic fringed curtain on a monster scale), the North London quartet have no need for gimmicks; their solid-gold discography is more than enough.

On one hand, we have Wolf Alice as we’ve seen them of late: achingly chic and oozing the ‘70s charisma of fourth album ‘The Clearing’, be it via the dappled disco ball stylings of loungey fan favourite ‘Just Two Girls’, or the Bond girl louche of Ellie Rowsell’s rotating platform, on which she sits for ‘The Sofa’ - an “intellectual beauty queen” indeed. Interspersed are moments of real tenderness, most notably an acoustic rendition of ‘Safe From Heartbreak (if you never fall in love)’ which sees the band step to the front of a spotlit stage, sans instruments save from Joff Oddie’s six-string; faced with a twinkling sea of phone torches, the sheer scale of it all is thrown into sharp relief.

On the other hand, we have Wolf Alice the rock stars: as 'Visions Of A Life' cut ‘Formidable Cool’ gets an early airing and Ellie unleashes her first primal scream of the evening, low-lit shadows transform from silhouettes to spectres stalking the stage, drummer Joel Amey and bassist Theo Ellis keeping things expertly balanced on the knife edge between tension and release. Later, during the siren-induced, megaphone-wielding six song run from ‘Yuk Foo’ to ‘Smile’, said balance is abandoned entirely, the band surrendering to their early proclivity for chaos in gloriously ungracious fashion. The floor is vibrating, our ears are ringing; it’s the loudest we’ve ever heard The O2.

Best though - beyond closer and modern classic ‘Don’t Delete The Kisses’, even - is ‘Bros’, Wolf Alice’s anthemic ode to the steadfast bond between best mates. Just as much of a love song as ‘... Kisses’, its unabashed, euphoric affirmation of friendship could almost have been written for this moment, a prescient nod to today’s glory-cementing victory lap. Because, as the screens flanking the stage cut to an old clip of the band’s younger selves, the message couldn’t be clearer: just look how far they’ve come.

Tags: Wolf Alice, Reviews, Live Reviews

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Records, etc at

Wolf Alice - Visions of a Life

Wolf Alice - Play It Out / Midnight Song (Live in LA) - RSD 2026

Wolf Alice - The Clearing

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