As debut albums go, We Came From Wolves and their self-titled debut is a bloody strong one. Opening with the misleading instrumental ‘Wolves’ and setting the tone for the rest of the album, it starts small and meek but soon ends up in one cacophonous sound and then abruptly shifts gear into ‘Glasgow Stranger’, a snappy indie-rock tune, similar to the likes of fellow Scots Twin Atlantic, but having much more in the way of vocal harmonies and a definite sharpness to the rhythm.
Their fairly recent single ‘Am I Useful?’ follows and is very similar in sound and structure to ‘Glasgow Stranger’, and has already been picked up on and championed by the likes of XFM Scotland’s Jim Gellatly, and the BBC’s Vic Galloway and Ally McCrae. And it’s little wonder, really. Already it is clear that We Came From Wolves are an exciting new Scottish band, and ‘Am I Useful?’ showcases this brilliantly. We Came From Wolves make seriously fun, radio-friendly rock music and it really wouldn’t surprise me if, on their current tour, every venue is packed to the rafters with very happy gig-goers, and will certainly be winning over a fair few folk in the process.
‘Coraline’ is in a very similar vein – bold and sharp-edged, bordering on brash tunes, the drums skipping lightly through the verses and chorus until around two minutes in. That’s when everything drops out except for a whining guitar and vocals, the drums taking much more of the limelight than before, although this is very brief. It then lurches forward and into what is a bit of an indulgent and drawn out ending. Lucky for them, it doesn’t do much harm. ‘Where’d Your Love Go?’ begins with that lone, whining guitar, bringing with it a slightly darker side and is more brooding in nature. We’re only halfway through the album, and already it’s obvious that each and every track has the potential to become brilliant single releases. ‘Validate Me’ is still in that darker place that ‘Where’d Your Love Go?’ dwells, with the vocals in the background over half of the introduction until the instrumental other half of the introduction pulls into play.
We Came From Wolves make some very good rock music. I am loath to make the Biffy Clyro comparison, because almost all Scottish bands find themselves compared to Biffy Clyro – more out of laziness than anything else, but you really can hear something of Biffy in it. ‘You’ve Backed The Wrong Horse’ sees the tempo turned up and seems to be typical We Came From Wolves – mid-tempo, vocal-led rock sounds with some quite fantastic vocal harmonies added in for good measure. The tempo increases further with ‘I Know You’re Leaving’ and is yet another potentially strong contender for a future single release. The album closes on ‘I Need Something’ which is in sharp contrast to the rest of the album. It is far more delicate in nature, almost vulnerably so with its very simple guitar-plus-vocals set up. As if aware of their vulnerability and the almost shocking difference between this and the other 10 tracks on the album, two minutes and nine seconds in, the rest of the band finally get to join in, and suddenly ‘I Need Something’ is as full and strong as its predecessors. It then gets stripped right back down to those simple beginnings for a few seconds, before another brief switch to a bolder and rather indulgent instrumental close. That aside, it’s a great ending to an impressive album.
[Rating:4.5]
We Came From Wolves was released 1st June on Saraseto Records.
