Wolf Songs is the fourth studio album by British indie rock band The Echo, released by WTF! Records on May 31st, 2024. A concept album spanning thirteen tracks, it tells the story of a human boy falling in love with a girl who has the ability to turn into a wolf, and was supported by four singles- “HIGH!!!”, “Secrets (Stuck Inside Your Head)”, “Alone.” and “Red Rain”.
Wolf Songs was recorded between 2022 and 2024 and is the last album to feature member Cleo Pinto, who’s current status in the band is not confirmed. The album was both a critical and commercial success, and is considered to be the bands breakthrough album. It was followed by The Moonlit Hour and The Summer Sunset, two collections of bonus material, in late 2024 and early 2025.
Background
The origins of the album date back to 2021, when William Flahive came up with the initial idea for the story during a creative writing class. The song “She Runs With Wolves”, from the bands third album Memories In Black And White, loosely uses the narrative as inspiration. Following the release of that album in June 2022, Flahive spent the summer detailing the story, and began to write demos for an album under the name Siren Songs, which would be changed to Wolf Songs by the end of 2022.
The Echo reconvened to begin recording the album in September 2022. They purposely made the decision to use live instrumentation as opposed to the MIDI exclusive production on Memories In Black And White, a choice that critics praised for giving the album life. Early songs such as “Dressed Like December” and “Red Rain” took a darker, heavy rock approach, reflecting Flahive’s deteriorating mental state at the time. He suffered depressive episode in late 2022 that lasted for the rest of the year, impacting his songwriting.
The band wrote over twenty five songs for the album, filling up the track list according to the specific plot points of the story. The majority of songs written for the album were released, either on Wolf Songs or as bonus material. Flahive and Pinto worked in close collaboration with one another across 2023, alongside music producer Admech Squid. The two finished college in the summer of 2023, at which point the album was half finished.
The remainder of the album was recorded at Flahive’s home studio, from late 2023 to early 2024. Flahive was responsible for the production on the album, and lost most of the albums files to a corrupted memory stick, having to rebuild entire tracks from audio snippets. He also handled marketing and the promotional material for the album.
There are two cover songs on the album- Semisonic’s “Closing Time”, and blink-182’s “Darkside”. Both tracks reflected the late 90s sound the album sought to recreate, and fit the specific story beats that needed filling on the track list.
Composition
Wolf Songs is predominantly rock focused, encapsulating the sound of 1990s indie rock in its simplistic production. The album features both an intro and outro track, directly inspired by the title tracks on each of The 1975’s studio albums.
“HIGH!!!” was initially considered for a Christmas song on the bands Christmas Stories project, but was shelved and returned to in early 2023. It was the first song finished for the album, and the rest of the production was deliberately done so to mirror the sound of the song. Other tracks such as “Introverts…” and “From The Other Side Of Your Bed” utilised this technique.
“Secrets (Stuck Inside Your Head)” details Cleo Pinto’s struggles with coming out as transgender during the creation of the album, and was written as a synth rock song. Other sonically diverse songs on the album includes metal songs “DESTINY” and “Red Rain”. The latter song is inspired by Flahive’s favourite TV show at the time, Netflix’s Wednesday.
The album made use of new recording techniques Flahive had never used before, including gang vocals, guitar doubling and sampling. He would later use these same techniques on the bonus material.
Lyrically, the album explores young love and the trials and tribulations of such. The story follows a boy who falls in love with a girl, who is confirmed to have the ability to turn into a wolf. His uncomfortability around being vulnerable costs him his relationship, leading to him seeking to make amends.
Release
The band announced new music on January 1st, 2024, teasing five release dates, four for single and one for the album. “HIGH!!!” was released as the albums lead single on January 26th, 2024, followed by “Secrets (Stuck Inside Your Head)” on February 23rd, “Alone.” on March 29th and “Red Rain” on May 17th. All four singles were accompanied by animated lyric videos, created by Flahive and American artist Plajutariens.
Wolf Songs was released on May 31st, 2024, distributed by WTF! Records on streaming services. Two bodies of bonus material, titled The Moonlit Hour and The Summer Sunset, were released in late 2024 and early 2025.
Critical Reception
Wolf Songs received critical acclaim for its nostalgic sound and mature lyricism. Critics noted the strong improvement from the bands third album, praising the production, songwriting and vocals, particularly on the singles and covers.
Commercially, the album was a success. “HIGH!!!” was the bands breakthrough single, and the album gained popularity in the underground music scene.
Tracklisting
1. -crescent moon-
2. HIGH!!!
3. Secrets (Stuck Inside Your Head)
4. Introverts…
5. Closing Time (Semisonic cover)
6. From The Other Side Of Your Bed
7. DESTINY
8. Red Rain
9. Dressed Like December
10. Alone.
11. Darkside (blink-182 cover)
12. Luna
13. -half moon-
Personnel
William Flahive- vocals (1-13), lyrics (1-4, 6, 8-10, 12-13), production (1-13)
Cleo Pinto- vocals (1-3, 7, 9, 11, 13), lyrics (3, 7)
Admech Squid- production (2)
Rob Cavill- production (2)