Photos by Delyla Carline
Category: Delyla Carline
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GALLERY & REVIEW: Wolf Alice at Fox Theatre – Pomona, CA
Photos and words by Delyla Carline
A cool gray sky hung over Pomona the night Wolf Alice performed at the Fox Theater on October 11. It felt as if the London band had brought the London weather with them. The city knew they were in town.
Inside the scenic venue, the lights dimmed and the crowd erupted, cheering for the band as they walked stylishly onto the iconic Fox stage. Wolf Alice opened with “Thorns,” one of the newest songs from their latest album The Clearing. Ellie Rowsell twirled across the stage with her usual energy, completely in her element.
Moments later came “Formidable Cool,” a standout from their second album Visions of a Life. Mid-performance, a sudden blare cut through the music. What sounded like another Charli XCX remix cue turned out to be the fire alarm. For a few seconds, confusion rippled through the venue before the band calmly exited and the audience waited, patient but buzzing. It was soon announced that the alarm was triggered by a fog machine malfunction. When Wolf Alice returned, the crowd greeted them with even louder cheers. Rowsell laughed and told everyone to forget the last ten minutes ever happened.
Their setlist this tour covered songs from all of their albums. Some of my favorites were “Giant Peach,” “White Horses,” “The Sofa,” and “Smile.”
Later in the show, alarms and flashing red and blue lights filled the room, but this time it was part of the chaos. The intro to “Play the Greatest Hits” exploded to life with Rowsell shouting through a megaphone, owning every inch of the stage.
The encore brought the night to a dreamy close. The crowd sang along to “The Last Man on Earth” from Blue Weekend, their voices echoing through the theater as time seemed to slow. The metallic fringe backdrop glowed with tiny stars and hearts while the band ended with the fan favorite “Don’t Delete the Kisses.” Wolf Alice performed with passion and precision, turning each song into an experience. As the audience spilled out onto the street, I found myself standing outside the venue, still wanting more.
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INTERVIEW: A Late Night You Can’t Drive Away From
Interview and photos by Delyla Carline
Dreams are supposed to come when everything slows down. For Late Night Drive Home, the dream started in a bedroom but quickly spilled into something restless and alive. In Los Angeles, I sat with the trio—Andre, Freddy, and Brian—in the cramped green room of the Fonda Theatre.
“It’s so funny because we were just having a conversation with our manager,” Andre said when asked about playing a bigger venue than last time they played a headline show in Los Angeles. “It’s been three years since we played El Cid. It was small but it wasn’t on my mind. I was like, ‘oh wow, I’m playing a show out here in Los Angeles with my friends.’”
El Cid’s capacity is 200—over a thousand less than the sold-out Fonda.
I first saw Late Night Drive Home at The Echo back in 2023, on a bill with Mind’s Eye and Sam Ray Club. Even then, it was obvious they were a band you’d want to say you saw early.
Late Night Drive Home’s debut is a concept album—an ambitious step for a band that’s always woven themes into their EPs and singles. The idea of the “new internet” and AI isn’t new, but turning it into an entire discography makes you pause and think: what led them here?
“What was the moment you guys were like, ‘yeah, we need to talk about this’ and decided to make a concept album?” I asked the guys.
“It was around the time AI was getting into the thick of it and the AI-generated videos were getting more realistic,” Andre said, staring off into the distance. “It was an eye-opening experience for us. We kind of contemplated all of the different theories that can occur from the advancement of technology.”
“Yeah, it’s kind of to the point of ‘are we old?’ or is stuff getting out of hand?” Brian chimed in.
“It’s definitely getting out of hand,” I said.
Brian laughed.
Videos from the “As I Watch Myself Online” tour started popping up on my TikTok For You page, and that’s when I became curious about the glowing cube onstage. Honestly, it felt like it was luring me in.
“You guys have this glowing cube onstage,” I said. “It feels straight out of Minecraft. Was it always a part of the vision of the tour?”
Freddy lit up at the mention. “I feel like it came by accident,” he said. “We had storyboarded the music video for ‘Terabyte’ and we envisioned this office space. Inside this office space is like a black box that holds the routers. We were like, ‘let’s make the box blue.’ And that showed up in the music video. Months later, we were prepping the stage design for the tour and were like, ‘let’s just throw the blue cube in there.’”
“For me, it’s kind of metaphorical. It’s like a Pandora’s box,” Andre said. “It’s like if the cube was the internet and the cube was a Pandora’s box, it would be one and the same.”
“If the cube had a secret power, what would it do?” I threw in a fun question.
Andre: It would have the ability to manipulate minds.
Freddy: It would have the answers to any question in the universe.
Brian: I was imagining teleportation.
Andre: That’s interesting.
“If you could spend a week inside any digital space, like a movie or video game, where would you go?”
“Myspace,” Brian answered immediately. “It’s fully customized and untouched by modern AI and ads.”
“Mine would be Animal Crossing just for the therapeutic factor,” Andre said.
“This is your first full-length produced in the studio. I can imagine how that changes the process and changes things sonically. What changed for you?”
“This was our first record studio-produced on a label and before we were self-produced from our bedroom,” Andre answered. “We wanted to make something on a grander scheme. The writing process was actually really interesting. We started writing this album like two years ago—maybe three?”
“That’s around 2022.”
“Yeah.”
“The oldest song on the album (As I Watch Myself Online) is ‘Opening A Door,’” Andre continued. “We did a whole tour for that song, hoping that it would come out. And it just never did.”
Both Brian and Freddy shook their heads with grins on their faces—confirming that fact.
“We had to take our time and change it, but it was really interesting. It was a really nice learning experience, recording in studios. We recorded at Bear Creek in Seattle, Sonic Ranch in El Paso, and Echo Park.”
“How do you guys feel about being familiar and comfortable in your bedrooms, then transitioning to studios with all these buttons you don’t recognize?” I asked.
“It’s an intimidating process going from being comfortable and creating music on your own to having, at this point, another member. The producer was helping us along the whole way but overall a very good learning experience,” Andre said.
“Not saying there’s any right way to make music—anyone can make music anywhere, using anything you want,” Freddy added.
“I tried GarageBand and that did not work out,” I said.
“We started writing music on GarageBand,” Andre replied.
“Did that work out?”
“It did.”
American Church is my most played song from the album As I Watch Myself Online. The rhythm, the feeling, and the strong lyrics brought me to a space I had never been in before but somehow belonged to. The next question was, “What song from the album personally hits differently for you and why?”
“I think that song for me would be ‘Modern Entertainment,’” Andre started. “That song is a sister track to ‘Opening A Door.’ I write about being locked in a room all day with nothing but your fear and thoughts. In ‘Modern Entertainment’ you’re opening that door and going out to the real world. Detaching yourself from all the bullshit online and touching grass.”
“For me it’s ‘Uncensored On The Internet,’” Freddy said. “That last chorus hits me really hard when I listen to it. Andre did really well with the lyrics.”
“I think ‘Terabyte’ hits me like a ton of bricks,” Brian began. “Andre’s lyric writing is crazy on that song. It’s intense. It’s like he’s slapping you around.”
Andre laughed.
“I don’t think he’s ever written lyrics like that and it’s very striking. It’s attention-grabbing.”
“Vulnerable,” Andre added.
Brian nodded in agreement. “Vulnerable.”
“Who usually writes the lyrics?” I asked.
Brian and Freddy pointed at Andre.
“I usually write most of the lyrics,” Andre said. “There was one song the guys helped me on and it was the opening track of the album. That was a collective experience for all of us.”
Late Night Drive Home debuted at Coachella last year and recently performed at Reading and Leeds this year. Getting to play these sensational festivals, I wondered what their dream festival lineups would be.
“Dead or alive?” Andre asked.
“Anyone. It’s your dream festival,” I responded.
“Benches,” Freddy said.
“Okay,” Andre said. “This would be the line in no particular order: Mustard Service. Benches. Pleasure Pill. Tony Jupiter. Tyler, the Creator. I just got to throw him in there.”
“Quarters of Change,” Brian said.
“Alex Sucks,” Freddy said.
“Fuck it, we’ll throw in Arctic Monkeys,” Andre said.
Freddy: Björk.
Andre: Björk would be cool.
Brian: The Strokes.
Andre: The Killers.
Freddy: The Kooks.
Andre: But going up before us? Arctic Monkeys.
Talking about dream festivals turned into an easy reminder that this is just the beginning for them. The stages are getting bigger, but their core stays the same.
What started as songs in a bedroom has turned into sold-out shows, festival slots, and a sound that keeps evolving. Sitting with them in that green room, hearing them joke about glowing cubes and teleportation, it was clear they’re still having fun while pushing themselves creatively. They’re not chasing what’s popular—they’re chasing what feels right to them. And if this is where they are now, it’s hard not to wonder just how much bigger that drive can get.
Polyvox Magazine 