Beautifully Unconventional

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"Beautifully Unconventional"
Beautifully Unconventional.jpg
Single by Wolf Alice
from the album Visions of a Life
Released14 August 2017 (2017-08-14)
Genre
Length2:13
LabelDirty Hit
Songwriter(s)
  • Ellen Rowsell
  • Jonathan Oddie
  • Joel Amey
  • Theodore Ellis
Producer(s)Justin Meldal-Johnsen
Wolf Alice singles chronology
"Don't Delete the Kisses"
(2017) 		"Beautifully Unconventional"
(2017) 		"Heavenward"
(2017)
Music video
"Beautifully Unconventional" on YouTube

"Beautifully Unconventional" is a song by English alternative rock band Wolf Alice from their second studio album, Visions of a Life. It was released on 14 August 2017 through Dirty Hit as the album's third single.

Release and live performances[]

"Beautifully Unconventional" premiered on Annie Mac's BBC Radio 1 show on 14 August 2017, and subsequently released for digital download and streaming services.[1] Rowsell said she wrote the song about one of her friends: "My feelings towards her reminded me of the film Heathers, where everyone is a Heather and you find your other non-Heather… a 'you can be my partner in crime', sorta thing."[2]

The band performed the song live for the first time on 26 July at the Echo in Los Angeles. It has since been part of their setlist on tour.[3] The song was also part of the band's Live Lounge session on 19 September.[4] On 17 October, they performed the song on Later... with Jools Holland.[5]

Composition[]

"Beautifully Unconventional" is based around a "chunky guitar line." Will Richards of DIY compared the song to American singer Beck, and noted the influence on the song from the song's producer Justin Meldal-Johnsen, who's best known for his work with the singer.[6] Orignte classified the song as indie rock,[7] while the Guardian's Dave Simpson characterized it as pop-funk, later stating that it "might even have a faint melodic nod to Aretha Franklin's Respect."[8] NME's Will Butler noted that the song "leans closer to the softer, warmer and catchy stylings of 'Don't Delete the Kisses' than it does the furious, punk sputter of 'Yuk Foo'."[1]

Critical reception[]

Drowned in Sound's Dom Gourlay said the song "finds the band traversing the world of pop at its most conventional. Once again highlighting Rowsell's gift for observational storytelling, it's a delightful spanner in the works that draws several hundred gasps of adulation from those present."[9] Robin Murry of Clash said the song is "a rallying cry, the choppy guitar lines proving to be overpowering without every venturing into the obvious," continuing: "The stuttering vocal continually reaches outwards, and we can already see this becoming a live anthem."[10] Dork wrote, "it's a retro-cinematic delight. An earworm fed on other, lesser siblings, it has a confident, Diet Coke commercial strut. It knows it looks good, and it's not afraid to flaunt it."[11]

Music video[]

A 50s-inspired music video for the song was uploaded the band's Vevo channel on YouTube on 11 September 2017.[12] Rowsell told the Fader regarding the video that the song is "a celebration of all your non-conforming friends; a celebration of individuality and the adventures that come with embracing that. For me personally, I imagined me and my mate Hannah as Christian Slater and Winona Ryder in Heathers (albeit looking nothing like them). The video has nothing to do with the song — I just didn't want to have a mullet anymore, seeing as lots of people tore me to pieces in our last video, so it was an excuse to wear a wig."[13]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b Butler, Will (14 August 2017). "Listen to Wolf Alice's new track, 'Beautifully Unconventional'". NME. Retrieved 14 August 2017.
  2. ^ Ackroyd, Stephen (14 August 2017). "Wolf Alice have dropped their 'Beautifully Unconventional' new single". Dork. Retrieved 14 August 2017.
  3. ^ "Wolf Alice Setlist at The Echo, Los Angeles, CA, Los Angeles, CA, USA". Setlist.fm. Retrieved 19 September 2017.
  4. ^ "Beautifully Unconventional (BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge, 19th September 2017)". BBC Radio 1. 19 September 2017. Archived from the original on 1 January 2018. Retrieved 19 September 2017.
  5. ^ Minsker, Evan (17 October 2017). "Wolf Alice Perform "Beautifully Unconventional" on "Jools Holland": Watch". Pitchfork. Missing or empty |url= (help)
  6. ^ Richards, Will (14 August 2017). "Listen to Wolf Alice's new single, 'Beautifully Unconventional'". DIY. Retrieved 19 September 2017.
  7. ^ Yadav, Shubham (14 September 2017). "Wolf Alice shared their new song "Beautifully Unconventional"". orignte.com. Retrieved 19 September 2017.
  8. ^ Simpson, Dave (17 August 2017). "Wolf Alice review – ice-cool comeback from indie shapeshifters". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 September 2017.
  9. ^ Gourlay, Dom (23 August 2017). "The Beautifully Unconventional Return of Wolf Alice". Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on 19 September 2017. Retrieved 19 September 2017.
  10. ^ Simpson, Dave (15 August 2017). "Listen: Wolf Alice - 'Beautifully Unconventional'". Clash. Retrieved 19 September 2017.
  11. ^ "Wolf Alice - Beautifully Unconventional". Dork. Retrieved 19 September 2017.
  12. ^ WolfAliceVEVO (11 September 2017). "Wolf Alice - Beautifully Unconventional". YouTube. Retrieved 19 September 2017.
  13. ^ Myers, Owen (11 September 2017). "Wolf Alice Get A Glamorous '50s Makeover in Their "Beautifully Unconventional" Video". The Fader. Retrieved 11 September 2017.
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