Wolf People: Discography

 

Wolf People are an English psychedelic rock band, formed by singer and guitarist Jack Sharp in Bedford in 2005. The band announced an indefinite hiatus in January 2020. After returning to his home of Bedfordshire following a period living in London, Sharp began recording songs under the name Wolf

People, after the Margaret Greaves children's book Little Jacko and the Wolf People. After releasing some of these songs as singles on the Battered Ornament label, Sharp joined up with childhood friend and drummer Tom Watt and guitarist Joe Hollick and the three began performing live. Following the addition of bassist Dan Davies, Wolf People became a band, rather than just a vehicle for Sharp's solo material, and were the first British band signed by American record label Jagjaguwar.
                   

The band is a throwback to the bluesy psychedelia of Black Sabbath, Cream, Traffic, and early Jethro Tull and Fairport Convention, tackling the sounds of the past with a kind of nostalgic reverence. The band released a few singles and EPs before pulling off a bit of a coup on the other side of the pond, becoming the first British band to sign to the indie label Jagjaguwar. Wolf People had a

busy release year in 2010, putting out both the Tidings collection and their first proper album, Steeple. Wolf People released their first two albums in 2010 - Tidings, a compilation of singles and demos recorded between 2005 and 2009, and the group's debut album proper, Steeple. Both albums were inspired by folk music in general and bands such as Pentangle and received generally positive reviews from critics, although some criticism was levelled at the band for trying too hard to recreate the sounds of 1960s and 70s rock music.
                    

       
The more theatrical and psych-touched sophomore album Fain arrived in 2013, was recorded in

guitarist Joe Hollick's house in Skipton, Yorkshire and saw the group experimenting with complex song structures. Reviews were again mostly positive, although some critics felt the album to be too similar to its predecessors in its psychedelic rock sound and use of lengthy guitar solos. The band's final album, Ruins, was released in 2016 and saw them attempting a more hard rock Psychedelic sound.
                      

A fuzzed-out and heady set of ruminations on nature reclaiming the land. Writing for the record took

place online, with members passing on song ideas and music they liked over the internet, but the songs on the album were almost exclusively recorded live, with the band performing together in the same room. Citing "the geographical distance between us and increased personal and family commitments", the band announced an indefinite hiatus in January 2020.
                       

Wolf People are light, bright people who sing about dark events: four scruffy, polite men in their 30s who know their Pentangle from their Pentagram, and, via blasts of fuzz guitar, sweaty funk blues

drumming, pastoral melody and a folklorist's sense of storytelling, are on a mission to evoke a magical – and often brutal – rural England that is under-represented in modern songwriting. "I'm really surprised that people today don't write more about their surroundings and people other than themselves," says Sharp. "One of the things that draws me to folk music is that it's so illustrative and diverse. It throws up pictures while you listen."
               

STUDIO ALBUMS

Tidings (2010)
Steeple (2010)
Fain (2013)
Ruins (2016)

SINGLES

"Silbury Sands" / "Dry" (Jagjaguwar JAG189), 2011
"When The Fire Is Dead in the Grate" / "Become The Ground" / "All Returns" / "All Returns Part II" (Jagjaguwar JAG248), 2013

LINE - UP

           

Jack Sharp – lead vocals, guitar (2005–2020)
Joe Hollick – guitar (c. 2007–2020)
Dan Davies – bass (c.2007–2020)
Tom Watt – drums (c.2007–2020)

1. WOLF PEOPLE - TIDINGS 2010

                 

Wolf People's first release for Jagjaguwar was the singles and outtakes collection Tidings. Released on 22 February 2010 in the UK, the album brought together various tracks Sharp had recorded between 2005 and 2009. As well as the influence of Pentangle and folk music in general, Sharp

has claimed that the melodies and guitar sounds on Tidings were inspired by the Captain Beefheart record Safe as Milk. The album received mostly positive reviews, with a score of 71 on Metacritic from 6 reviews, denoting a "generally favourable" response from critics.  The musical interludes added character to the album and helped it achieve an "unexpectedly complete, avant-garde reimagining of 60s and 70s psychedelic rock" reminiscent of the tapes pictured on its cover art.
                    

Wolf People – Tidings
Label: Jagjaguwar – JAG158
Format: CD, Album, Compilation
Country: US
Released: 2011
Genre: Rock
Style: Psychedelic Rock

TRACKS

                 

01. Season Pt. 1    1:14
02. Black Water    4:33
03. Interlude: Plains/Banjoe    0:30
04. Cotton Strands   4:32
Flute – Ross Harris
Guitar – Joe Hollick
05. Interlude: Circle/Viking/Colours    4:08
06. Storm Cloud    3:20
07. Interlude: Grandfather    0:58
08. Interlude: Scraps    0:49
09. October Fires   4:20
Backing Vocals – Marisa Straccia
Harmonica – Peter Sharp
10. Interlude: Mercy Fragment    1:27
11. April   1:07
Harmonica – Peter Sharp
12. Untitled   2:52
Electric Piano – Tom Hubmann
Tin Whistle – Gillie Sharp
13. Interlude: Cotton Fragment    1:12
14. Empty Heart   3:51
Backing Vocals – Marisa Straccia
Harmonica – Peter Sharp
15. Season Pt. 2    1:01

ADDITIONAL MUSICIANS

Ross Harris - Flute
Peter Sharp - Harmonica
Marisa Straccia - Backing Vocals
Tom Hubmann - Electric Piano

NOTES

This is a collection of recordings made in Bedfordshire, England between 2005 and 2009 by Jack Sharp with help from friends, family and old tapes found in a garage.

Flac Size: 195 MB

2. WOLF PEOPLE - SILBURY SANDS (Mar 7, 2011) (7" SINGLE - PROMO)

                 

Silbury Sands sounds far more like a product of the 70s than 2011, but rather than soaking the

EP in overly nostalgic retro production, Wolf People instead wear their influences proudly while expanding on them. The band experimented with complex song structures, while Sharp performed "exhaustive research" when writing his lyrics.  
                  

Wolf People – Silbury Sands
Label: Jagjaguwar – JAG189
Format: CD, 7", Single
Country: US
Released: 2011
Genre: Rock
Style: Psychedelic Rock

TRACKS

                  

01. Silbury Sands    5:18
02. Dry    3:58

Flac Size: 61.8 MB

3. WOLF PEOPLE - STEEPLE 2010

                    

Steeple, the band's debut album proper, was released eight months after Tidings, on 10 October 2010. Recording took place at York Street Studios, Bedford and Mwnci Studios in Wales, with "Tiny Circle" being recorded at Shock and Awe Studios, Barnet. The album's lyrics feature an "underlying mysticism", with Sharp taking inspiration from traditional folk songs and traditional British and Irish folk tales. So much of music is about taking the lessons of the past and improving upon them in an

attempt by the artist to leave their mark on the artistic landscape. Occasionally, a band comes along and reminds us that those old sounds are so good on their own that they don’t really need anything added to them to stand on their own in the modern era. On Steeple, the first proper album from England’s Wolf People, the band takes up the challenge of championing the bluesy, psychedelic rock of their homeland. If the rise of chillwave has taught us anything, it’s that the line between vintage sound and ironic pastiche is a thin and treacherous one. Fortunately for them, Steeple proves that Wolf People is a band that is more than capable of traversing it.
                   

Wolf People – Steeple
Label: Jagjaguwar – JAG159
Format: CD, Album
Country: US
Released: 2010
Genre: Rock
Style: Psychedelic Rock

TRACKS

           

01. Silbury Sands    5:18
02. Tiny Circle      5:10
03. Painted Cross    3:23
04. Morning Born    4:09
05. Cromlech    3:17
06. One By One From Dorney Reach    5:35
07. Castle Keep    7:34
08. Banks Of Sweet Dundee Pt. 1    3:27
09. Banks Of Sweet Dundee Pt. 2    5:11

ADDITIONAL MUSICIANS

Ross Hams - Flute
Adam Knowles - Vocals (tracks: Additional)

Flac Size: 254 MB

4. WOLF PEOPLE - FAIN 2013

                     

Fain was recorded at guitarist Joe Hollick's home—an old gatehouse by a river in Skipton, Yorkshire—a location drummer Tom Watt has described as an "inspiring [...] beautiful place". On their second album, Fain, British rockers Wolf People deliver the type of controlled psychedelia and fuzz-bathed prog that defined "album rock" in the mid-'70s. Earlier albums drew comparisons to the bluesy classic rock of Cream or Jethro Tull, and while Fain definitely retains those reference points, the

eight tunes weave together into a singular mood, touching on elements of U.K. folk, underground psych, and even early metal before it's all over. Production is crisp and dry rather than coated in throwback reverb, giving standout tracks like "All Returns" the stark feeling of an early winter morning, with even its most frenzied solos and jagged fuzz guitars sharply in focus. Clearly disciples of the era of album rock, Wolf People have created a record that works best when taken as a whole piece, and when experienced as such, it creates a unique environment that's cold, cryptic, mysterious, and startlingly direct all at once.
                 

Wolf People – Fain
Label: Jagjaguwar – JAG230CD
Format: CD, Album
Country: UK
Released: Apr 29, 2013
Genre: Rock
Style: Psychedelic, Indie Rock, Alternative Rock

TRACKS

                

01. Empty Vessels    4:58
02. All Returns    4:49
03. When The Fire Is Dead In The Grate     6:34
04. Athol    5:39
05. Hesperus    6:59
06. Answer    3:06
07. Thief    7:01
08. NRR    5:18

ADDITIONAL MUSICIANS

Jace Lasek, Nicola Kearey, Rachel Davies - Backing Vocals
Olivia Chaney - Piano, Vocals
 

Flac Size: 261 MB

5. WOLF PEOPLE - WHEN THE FIRE IS DEAD IN THE GRATE (12" EP) (Dec 3, 2013)

                  

Following Wolf People's critically acclaimed 2013 release, “Fain,” comes this 4-track 12" featuring two of the album’s most accomplished songs and two brand new tracks. "When the Fire is Dead in the Grate" has quickly been established as a fan-favorite throughout venues during their European tour. Stewart Lee described the song as ".... the album’s first stone classic, a funky folk-metal workout that trails off into a compellingly extended coda, both guitarists circling and dovetailing and spiraling." A

brand new track, "Become the Ground," breaks new ground for the band, being, perhaps, their most obviously folk-influenced song to date. It’s a beautiful duet between lead singer Jack Sharp and guest vocalist Nicola Keary before the song breaks into a swirling psychedelic jam. The B-side of the 12” is made up of the first track fans heard on Fain, "All Returns", but now coupled with "All Returns Part II", the song’s original extended outro. It’s Wolf People at their best, locking into a masterful groove, razor-sharp guitars lines interlocking and intertwining. The track "When the Fire Is Dead in the Grate" was influenced by the "seaside folk superstition" Sharp read in David Thomson's 1954 book, The People of the Sea. The Besnard Lakes' Jace Lasek provides backing vocals on "All Returns".
                    

Wolf People – When The Fire Is Dead In The Grate
Label: Jagjaguwar – JAG248
Format: CD, 12", 45 RPM, EP
Country: US
Released: Dec 3, 2013
Genre: Rock
Style: Psychedelic Rock

TRACKS

01. When The Fire Is Dead In The Grate   6:26
02. Become The Ground   5:06
03. All Returns   4:42
04. All Returns Part II   4:47

Flac Size: 150 MB

6. WOLF PEOPLE - RUINS 2016

            

It may be wise for Wolf People to open their stunning third album with lyrics that were once used as an incantation for burglars seeking supernatural protection as they went about their nefarious business. “Oh Hand of Glory shed thy light,” sings frontman Jack Sharp, “direct us to our spoils tonight.” The

Hand of Glory was a talisman made from the pickled hand of a hanged man and equipped with a candle ideally made from the same corpse’s fat. “It’s pretty grim,” Sharp notes, explaining to Uncut that he found the verses in a Readers Digest encyclopedia of English magic and folklore. Even though the words are a few hundred years old, the fact that Sharp’s silvery voice is smeared with distortion is one indication that Wolf People are more at home in the 21st century than the 18th. 
                  

Songs that may have risked seeming overly fey or mannered – always a danger for deep dives into the freakier depths of the English pastoral – instead boast maximum force thanks to the pummelling yet

adroit rhythm section of Watts and bassist Dan Davies, and to Sharp and Hollock’s nimble shifts between delicate bouts of interplay and crunchy riffage.
Here again, there’s a firm sense that all the signposts of the past have been successfully thrust into the present. Mind you, that present is a deeply troubled place, judging by how much Sharp’s songs despair over civilisation’s decline and Mother Earth’s possible hunger for vengeance. Ruins sees Wolf People harness that turmoil and turbulence in order to cast a light of their own.
                 

This album is a bright masterpiece!!!

Wolf People – Ruins
Label:Jagjaguwar – JAG279
Format:    CD, Album, Stereo
Country: US
Released: Nov 11, 2016
Genre: Rock
Style: Psychedelic Rock, Blues Rock, Folk Rock

TRACKS

                  

01. Ninth Night     3:17
02. Rhine Sagas   4:02
Flute – Ross Harris
03. Night Witch    3:50
04. Kingfisher   6:58
Flute – Rebecca De Winter
05. Thistles    4:00
06. Crumbling Dais   3:55
Flute – Rebecca De Winter
07. Kingfisher Reprise   1:13
Flute – Rebecca De Winter
08. Not Me Sir   4:03
Flute – Rebecca De Winter
Saxophone – Roger Illingworth
09. Belong    3:48
10. Salts Mill   5:54
Electric Piano [Rhodes] – Alex Crispin
Saxophone – Roger Illingworth
11. Kingfisher Reprise II   0:57
Flute – Rebecca De Winter
12. Glass    4:23

ADDITIONAL MUSICIANS

Ross Harris - Flute
Rebecca De Winter - Flute
Alex Crispin - Electric Piano [Rhodes]
Roger Illingworth - Saxophone
Nicola Kearey - Backing Vocals

Flac Size: 306 MB

This post is dedicated to our Friend STU, who likes Psychedelic sounds. Love and Peace my friend.