【搬运】【译】NME杂志评 Alice Wolf 2017年专辑《Visions of a Life》
搬运自：微信公众号【评论搬一堆】（在原文基础上添加了英语原文与排版调整）
翻译：Ryan-Chopin
校正：VenusOgyO
Wolf Alice是一支来自英国北伦敦的另类摇滚乐队，成员由Ellie Rowsell（主唱，吉他），Joff Oddie（吉他 伴唱），Theo Ellis（贝斯）和 Joel Amey（鼓手）组成。
2014年，乐队获得了UK Festival Awards的最佳突破艺人奖。年底，Wolf Alice入选BBC Sound Of 2015的候选名单。
2015年发行专辑《My Love Is Cool》；2017年发行专辑《Visions of a Life》，并荣获2018年水星音乐奖。
“If we had an inkling of an idea, even if it seemed a bit silly, we’d try it out and see what happened,” Ellie Rowsell said earlier this year about the making of Wolf Alice’s second album, ‘Visions Of A Life’. Spoiler alert: what happened was the London band making a record so bold, brave and jaw-droppingly advanced it should sound out a secret “album of the year” message when played backwards.
Ellie Rowsell在谈到Wolf Alice的第二张专辑《Visions of a Life》时说:“如果我们大致地想出了一个新点子，哪怕它似乎有些愚蠢，我们也会尝试一下，看看会发生什么。”那我们来剧透一下：这支来自伦敦的乐队创造了一张如此大胆、前卫且令人瞠目结舌的专辑唱片，甚至如果将专辑倒放，你都会在心里默认——它可能会是2017年的年度专辑。
In some ways, Wolf Alice’s second album is an extension of their 2015 debut, ‘My Love Is Cool’. That excellent record was restless, too, flitting from hypnotic, electronic folk to teeth-baring rock. Some of the little ideas buried in its songs are blown up life-sized here – the thundering guitars of the doom-y, shape-shifting title track are reminiscent of ‘Giant Peach”s hefty finale, while the mid-air meltdown of ‘Sky Musings’ takes ‘The Wonderwhy”s spoken word and laces it through the whole ominous track.
Wolf Alice的第二张专辑可谓他们2015年首张专辑《My Love Is Cool》的姊妹篇。他们首张唱片也是让人赞不绝口，从催眠的电子抒情到激情摇滚，一曲一调，都使人沉醉。那些藏在歌曲里的小想法也足够颠覆你的感官体验——主打歌带有一丝忧郁与扭曲，其轰雷似的吉他声也让人不禁想起上一张专辑中“Giant Peach”那宏伟的尾音，而述说在空难前痛彻心扉的“Sky Musings”延续了“The Wonderwhy”的说辞口吻，贯穿全曲，歌词充斥着不详之兆。
More than that, though, ‘Visions Of A Life’ is a vast improvement on an already supreme foundation. Bassist Theo Ellis and Joel Amey’s rhythm section propels each song with just the right combination of intricacy and immediacy. ‘Formidable Cool’ is Wolf Al at their nastiest – guitarist Joff Oddie’s riff is tumbling and sleazy, while its savage breaking point has Ellie howling “That’s all he fucking did when he fucked you on the floor!” Far softer, ‘After The Zero Hour’ is a choral beauty more fit for churches than the sticky-floored arenas the Londoners are headed for.
更值得一提的是，该乐队基础本身就不错，《Visions Of A Life》的出现更是浓墨重彩的一笔。贝斯手Theo Ellis和Joel Amey用其独特的节奏将每首歌曲的复杂性与即时性完美结合。“Formidable Cool”展现了Wolf Alice“下流”的一面——吉他手 Joff Oddie反复弹奏的乐节一拥而入，跌跌撞撞，而Ellie在歌中的转折处野蛮地大嚎“That’s all he fucking did when he fucked you on the floor”。歌曲“After The Zero Hour”则要柔和得多，带有一种唱诗班的天籁之音与教堂的仪式感，而非伦敦人常选择的夜店曲。
It’s ‘Don’t Delete The Kisses’ that lifts things to astronomical new heights, though. With whirring guitars straight from Blur‘s ‘Essex Dogs’ and a glittering, swirling melody, it’s a cinematic glory that has the potential to become a modern classic. Ellie said she wanted to write “one of those head-out-the-window driving tunes”, but it feels more like soaring light years above Earth with enough butterflies in your stomach to carry you all the way home.
“Don’t Delete The Kisses”将主题推到了一个新高度。其吉他声采样于Blur的“Essex Dogs”，旋律也独具风格，给人耳目一新的感觉，这首画面感极强的歌有潜力成为现代经典之作。Ellie说，她想写一首让人听着仿佛在窗外迎风而行的曲子，但这首歌感觉更像是在超脱了地球限制、在光年间翱翔时，有蝴蝶作伴、一同归乡。
With ‘Visions Of A Life’ Wolf Alice are removing any doubt about their status in the UK music scene. Best band in Britain? 100 per cent.
发行《Visions Of A Life》后的Wolf Alice，逐渐战胜了那些质疑声，成功在英国音乐界站住一席地。如果要问英国最好的乐队是哪一支，100%会是Wolf Alice。
