Wolf Alice on virtual Glastonbury and their 'quest for world dominance'
Getty ImagesThis year, Wolf Alice made history.
They opened the first ever virtual Glastonbury festival - a five-hour live stream, broadcast around the world from a deserted Worthy Farm.
"We were playing at the stone circle, so we were all facing each other," bassist Theo says - when asked what memories stick out from such a momentous gig.
"It meant I could see all your faces," adds drummer Joel.
"Usually I can only see bums... I'm not sure which I prefer to be honest."
Getty ImagesTo be fair, Wolf Alice have plenty of reasons not be phased by such a massive moment.
It's a week on from the Glastonbury live stream and we've come to meet the band at their rehearsal studio in north London.
In between checking how magazine photo shoots look in the cold light of day, and reading advanced reviews for their new album Blue Weekend, they're practising covers for various radio sessions.
"I'm not sure this album has an underlying theme, other than Wolf Alice's quest for world dominance," smiles guitarist Joff.
He describes Blue Weekend as less of a themed journey, more a "collection of songs" - and that was reflected in the first two singles released from it.
Smile is powerful, loud and angry. The Last Man on Earth, is its polar opposite - an epic piano ballad that eventually breaks into an instrumental section that sounds more than a bit like The Beatles.
"I couldn't possibly comment," laughs Theo when asked if the similarities were intentional.
"It's a had a mixed reception that bit," adds Joff.
"A friend of mine said, 'I love you guys because you can do a beautiful song like that and then put a section in the middle that completely ruins it!'"
Getty ImagesThe day before our interview, the band was announced as one of the headliners for this year's Latitude Festival in Suffolk.
It's not quite their first festival headline show, but it's set to be their biggest - and their name on this year's Reading and Leeds poster is bigger and higher up than it's ever been.
"It's a massive honour to be headlining any festival at this stage in our career, so fingers crossed it happens," Theo says.
"We just want to get back to doing what we love, which is playing these songs to actual people in a room or a field or wherever it might be."
