Way back in 2010, a short lived BBC TV series called Whites featured a song called “Song For The Dead” over its opening and closing credits. The song was by Alexander Wolfe from his debut album Morning Brings A Flood, and I was immediately enthralled. 16 years later I continue to follow his musical endeavours and his latest, fifth album Everythinglessness is another richly layered and full of soul recording to add to his discography.
Years ago, artists would release a record that would purposefully be designed to be listened to from start to finish; or from side A to side B; and would oftentimes tell a story. Everythinglessness by Alexander Wolfe is exactly that, a journey following a young boy through adolescence into manhood and navigating life’s challenges such as a terminally ill mother, absent father and at the forefront of all this struggling with mental health issues.
Recently, Wolfe has been quite candid about his own struggles and revealed that this album was written after his own stint in a mental health rehab facility. Which may be why this particular record in his discography feels so raw, real and honest even if it’s not entirely officially autobiographical.
“Lewisham Conversation” is the first full track that is a bold, blunt commentary on political and social issues. It’s an ambitious opener that starts with some soft keys and a metronome-like beat while Wolfe’s vocals narrates a relationship story. As the journey of the characters grows so does the number of layered instruments as we hear guitars, strings, horns and backing vocals all layered in.
The title track “Everythinglessness” lulls you in with its breathy introduction, synth keys and guitars but launches you audaciously into the crashing sounds of its core. It’s a song that is nothing like anything Wolfe has done before, 3 minutes full of Wolfe’s soaring vocals amidst the rollercoaster noise that starts soft, bursts out loud, then ends softly again.
“Talk” opens with gentle strummed guitars, building layer upon layer with keys, bubbling bass and drums. This is Wolfe’s anthem to men struggling with mental health and his plea “I don’t know what to tell you man, all I know is what you’ve got to do is talk”. “To Feel Love” is a sonic masterpiece of soulful storytelling of the universal yearning of wanting to feel loved with its twangy guitars. Both these tracks are reminiscent of Wolfe’s earlier records. The instruments swirl around his vocals, at times soft and at other times growing ever louder. They’re a perfect example of Wolfe’s signature way of blending his own vocals in with the production creating something both intimate and expansive.
“Her Final Breath” will resonate with anybody who has had to watch the slow passing of a loved one and the grief that follows. With its rolling keys, gentle hidden strings behind a thumping drum that feels like a heartbeat. It’s 5 minutes 16 seconds of an absolute heartbreaker and tearjerker of a track.
The unofficial bookends are “The Toughening” and “The Softening” and feel like the emotional core of the record. Wolfe uses drums to emphasise the climax of the former whilst he uses layered vocals, strings and synths to bring the latter to a rising crescendo and ends the song and record with the sounds of waves lapping at a beach shore.
The album is full of interspersed sounds taken from live records and tapes, snippets of whispered conversations, a choir, somebody breathing, or the sounds of nature. Almost like the songs are occurring in the midst of life happening all around. Wolfe’s signature velvety intimate vocals are surprisingly not always the focus; a trait that over the course of his career he has learned to blend and complement with all the other instruments used in his songs.
Alexander Wolfe’s evolution from a predominantly acoustic guitar singer-songwriter to now having strings, choirs and a plethora of instruments shows a return of confidence in his songwriting and production despite going through a fallow period. Everythinglessness is an ambitious album that defies current viral trends and harks back to a time when records commanded your attention to tell a story from start to end with every single track.
