I can('t) see England: Wolf Alice takes Rock en Seine 2026
A swaggering performance shows the UK's biggest modern indie rock group is better than ever, writes Martin Day
Domaine National de Saint-Cloud, 30 August
It is much to Rock en Seine’s credit that every band credibly feels as though it could be the night’s headline act. It is also fantastically inconvenient; as the bombastic opening chords of Wolf Alice’s first song, ‘Bloom Baby Bloom’, ring out across the park, some few thousand fans are still swarming their way across the kilometre-long walk to the BoursoBank Stage.
Here, Ellie Rowsell and her ensemble have been framed against a huge wall of sparkling ribbons, laid out in horizontal rows. On the screens beside the stage, it creates the impression Rowsell is standing in a giant tiered stadium, à la the Azteca. That backdrop matches the larger-than-life aesthetic of this band, who represents one of the foremost indie rock groups of today’s music scene (in this reporter’s opinion).
Rowsell’s vocals are irreplaceable, a versatile glue that delivers a staggering range of notes to complete the awesome backing instrumental of each song. It would be grossly wrong to call her work effortless; the skill placed on each note blasts over the crowd, among whom the pulsing chords of ‘Bloom Baby Bloom’ crank up the adrenaline of those who have managed to arrive on time to the set.
A swaggering bassline and far more aggressive vocal performance dispel the notion [...] that their songs are limited to the sort of genre you’d find scoring a BBC Sport montage
The second song to follow, ‘White Horses’, is in some ways a funny one, being a clearly folk-inspired anthem focusing on the band’s own attachment to England, played before a still-growing crowd of French revellers. Definitely, it is a crowd pleaser, similar in tempo to ‘Bloom Baby Bloom’, and it’s the second in what will be a rich lineup of songs from the band’s latest album, 2025’s The Clearing, so by no means is it out of place.
Timed so early on, perhaps it is a conscious message of letting go, the band shedding their English identity out of the way for the benefit of the festival. Certainly, what follows is an admirable if wincing attempt at French, as Rowsell takes the opportunity to gush broken “merci beaucoups” at those who have assembled.
Song three, the twanging and punk-reminiscent ‘Formidable Cool’, boasts the ensemble’s enormous range. A swaggering bassline and far more aggressive vocal performance dispel the notion among anyone who somehow hasn’t found this band that their songs are limited to the sort of genre you’d find scoring a BBC Sport montage. The effect is complete with wind machines that are a staple of all Wolf Alice gigs, as an attendant crouched in the photo pit blasts air into the face of Rowsell as she screams into the mic, billowing her long dark hair behind her.
Image: Marina Viguier
Image: Marina Viguier
Image: Marina Viguier
Image: Marina Viguier
Image: Marina Viguier
Image: Marina Viguier
Another hit from The Clearing, ‘Just Two Girls’, sets the mood into a more laid-back atmosphere as the band settle into the gig. As she has done on other occasions, Rowsell invites two members of the audience onto the stage to embody the eponymous girls, and dances with them for the instrumental. ‘Leaning Against the Wall’, featuring sweetly gentle guitar work alongside angelic Rowsell vocals, precedes ‘How Can I Make It Okay’, a song pairing ethereal chords and harmonies with a vivid, thrumming bassline. It is a full package of the dizzying variety of Wolf Alice’s discography – energising without losing any of the emotional resonance that has defined the group’s success.
The group’s music is almost shoegazey in how well it folds the different layers of instruments into a singular, cohesive soundscape.
One of the guitarists beseeches the crowd for all of those here at Rock en Seine tonight to “heal together”, inviting fans to hug their best friend. Obviously, that then precedes ‘Bros’, the uplifting progression of the track perking up a crowd lulled into the feel-good, dreamy atmosphere of the previous few songs. Rowsell chooses here to pair her own singing with that of her keyboardist, enhancing the companionable vibes. Platonic bonds and friendship are the theme of the gig today, and as at prior concerts you can tell how much this ensemble enjoys performing together. The group’s music is almost shoegazey in how well it folds the different layers of instruments into a singular, cohesive soundscape.
Jauntier tracks like ‘Bread Butter Tea Sugar’ and ‘Yuk Foo’ – the latter involving Rowsell strutting across the stage with a megaphone siren – launch the performance into a rougher, punkier phase, though the crowd are all for it. The transition into ‘Play The Greatest Hits’, another screamed anthem, is so fluid I don’t even register the change in song, though the song that follows, ‘Smile’, retains the band’s signature soaring vocals even against a far heavier bass. By the time the far softer piano chords of ‘The Last Man On Earth’ ring out, everyone in the crowd is out of breath. Rowsell perhaps included – her voice wavers on the lower notes of this song that she has been known to cry in during performances. Members of the audience hold each other as she serenades to “let the light shine on you”, and in darker venues phone torches would usually be out to accompany the swaying rhythm. The glittering stage backdrop, for what it’s worth, looks much like a million tiny phone torches from far back in the crowd.
A dozen songs could respectably occupy the niche of ending track for the gig, but inevitably it has to be the band’s unrivalled success, the autobiographical ‘Don’t Delete the Kisses’. Rowsell tries another valiant go at French as the group bids the crowd an “Enchantée”, and the dreamy opening notes send the audience wild. A group near the front of the stage produce a Palestinian flag – less contentious than last year, when the French government threatened to strip Rock en Seine’s funding for its acts’ solidarity with the state – and the Wolf Alice lead scrambles down onto the stage barricades to hold the banner aloft. Such a technically ambitious song still sounds amazing played here live – it’s a triumph of stage production as well as of the group’s own exceptional music. Wolf Alice’s last show of the summer is a firm headline act – it’s a wonder this has been timed so early in the day.
With thanks to Nina Zemman and to Ephelide for giving The Boar the opportunity.
Article photography by Antoine Jaussaud & Marina Viguier
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