I can't tell if "Giant Peach"—the first song from North London rock band Wolf Alice's new album, My Love Is Cool—is a reference to Roald Dahl's famous kid's book about an orphan named James. According to vocalist Ellie Rowsell, the track is about growing up in London, so the title could also maybe be an across-the-pond version of New York City's "Big Apple" nickname. "It's about a love affair with the city," she told FADER over email. "It's a song to dance to, but also a song to lose your shit to."
Like any affair worth writing about, it's a complicated one: I don't know what keeps me here, it's not the boy that gives me funny feels, Rowsell sings in the hushed build-up to the noisy climax, which is all squalor and sludge and shrieking. My Love Is Cool drops June 23rd via Dirty Hit/ RCA; "Giant Peach" is streaming exclusively below.
Lead image: James Grant
