Wolf People
Tidings
Release Date: Feb 23, 2010
Genre(s): Indie, Rock
Record label: Jagjaguwar
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Album Review: Tidings by Wolf People
Great, Based on 3 Critics
Based on rating 8/10
Tidings is perhaps not quite an "official" debut album in that it compiles the singles Wolf People have released thus far, paving the way for their proper debut, but plenty of bands have started out exactly the same way, and it's as enthralling an introduction to the young British band's kaleidoscopic beard-rock world as anyone could want. It's impossible to talk about Tidings without discussing its obvious antecedents, just as it's impossible to assess the Rolling Stones' early recordings without mentioning the Chess blues roster. Wolf People basically sound like John Peel's wet-dream band circa 1970, as they appear to have soaked up all manner of late-‘60s/early-‘70s psych, folk-rock, proto-prog, and blues-rock influences.
Based on rating 4/5
One of my favorite things about tape — be it cassette or reel-to-reel — has always been the way the players seem to suggest faces. The spindles look like eyes, and when they turn, they recall the expressions of crazy cartoon characters. Maybe that’s just me. But UK’s Wolf People certainly make no secret of their love for tape and the insanity it can communicate — the cover of their debut album Tidings shows miniatures of all manner of analog recording devices.
Based on rating 6.4/10
London's Wolf People come from a long line of British blues-rock. Though certainly drawing from the roots music of the Southern U.S., they are equally entrenched in mead-soaked English folk, classic rock, and psychedelia. For each woolly bit of boogie, there's a supporting cast of trippy flute accents, backwards guitars, and ramshackle nods to mod rock and paisley-patterned freakouts.