Wolf Alice - Scala, London 28/05/14

After the vivacity of the opener, it’s full pelt into a no-holds-barred rendition of “She”, the perfect opportunity for Ellie to show off her talent as a formidable frontwoman, a quality she effortlessly flaunts throughout a night of thunderous riffs, sweat-drenched moshing and spectacularly failed attempts at crowd surfing.

Bruised chins and damaged reputations aside, this was a young crowd braced for everything the most rightfully hyped-up new band in Britain could hurl at them. Their dazzling rise to prominence has been boosted no end by a fan base so devoted it belts out every lyric of even the least known of unreleased tracks, the pick of which – the scathingly-titled “You’re A Germ” – packs a potent Pixies punch.

That is only half of the Wolf Alice story, though. For all their gritty rock exploits, this is a band with a striking aptitude for creating moments of pensive, tender, utter bliss, brought out tonight with no greater clarity than on the heartfelt “Blush”.

If that had immobilised a frenetic audience by lulling it into a momentary spellbound stand-still, what came next captivated each and every one of the thousand or so revellers inside Scala in an altogether different way. Tagged seamlessly onto the end of “Blush”, a cover of Chris Isaak’s hit “Wicked Game” raised the proverbial roof another notch higher, Rowsell’s velvety tones the perfect fit for this ballad of unrequited love.

This show was the grand finale to a sprawling 17-date tour that commenced back at the beginning of May, and Wolf Alice were keen to pull out all the stops as they set about cementing their status as the British buzz band of the moment. Lavishly glitzed up – Rowsell and bassist Theo Ellis plumped for copious amounts of eye glitter that wouldn’t look out of place on the glam rock scene – tonight was as much a celebration for Wolf Alice of their recent success as it was a warm-up for a hectic summer schedule that sees them support the Libertines in Hyde Park, not to mention play a multitude of festivals including Glastonbury, T in the Park and Reading and Leeds.

And they should have no difficulty in translating their sound to the big stage; the floor of Scala shook seismically during the most intense highs of the set, though none more so than when Ellie, Joff (Oddie, guitar), Theo and Joel (Amey, drums) let rip with the Hole-esque “Fluffy”. Every last smidgen of energy was expended by band and crowd alike as what arguably stands as Wolf Alice’s biggest show to date hurtled gloriously to a scintillating sign-off.

Wolf Alice take their name from a short story telling of a feral child’s journey to realise her own identity. Far from just another diamond in the British musical rough, they’ve found theirs and they’re going to flaunt it. You have been warned.