Totally Self-Destructive Constantly Consuming

Wolf Alice “Yuk Foo”

I’ve seen Ellie Rowsell perform “Yuk Foo” live, and I know she can bring the appropriate level of ferocious intensity to it on stage, but I still wonder if she went a bit “method” when she recorded the vocal take on the studio version. She sounds so present in the rage and spite, so fully committed to hurting the person the song is addressed to. There are breakup songs that are like trying to win an argument, or examine a problem. This is not that. This is someone fighting back at slut-shaming by screaming “I want to FUCK all the people I meet” with a guttural bark. This is unhinged, in-the-red fury directed at someone who clearly deserves it, and it is entirely unapologetic. That’s what makes the song so compelling – she sounds like she’s having fun in embracing this nasty, horny, aggressive, messy part of herself. She sounds totally thrilled to be letting go, and in standing up to some controlling, passive-aggressive creep.

I hope the right people find this song.

Buy it from Amazon.