Ellie Rowsell looks back at 10 years of Wolf Alice: 'We're always just trying to challenge ourselves'

In addition to releasing their latest album, The Clearing, Wolf Alice celebrated the 10th anniversary of their 2015 debut album, My Love Is Cool, in 2025. If you've been a Wolf Alice fan since they first broke out with the single "Moaning Lisa Smile," then you know they've pushed their sound in many different directions over the past decade.

"We're always just trying to challenge ourselves and keep our attention span and have fun," frontwoman Ellie Rowsell tells ABC Audio. "We don't really stick to one thing religiously, really."

Defining exactly what kind of music she plays has never really interested Rowsell, even before she knew what Wolf Alice would become.

"I remember once when I told my boyfriend when I was at school it could maybe be fun to be in a band," Rowsell shares. "He was like, 'What kind of band? You have to figure out what kind of band you wanna be in before you make a band.' And I was like, 'S***, OK.'"

She laughs, "And if I'd kept that advice, I would never have started a band, because I still don't really know."

And while Wolf Alice continues to explore beyond the grungy, '90s alt-rock roots of "Moaning Lisa Smile," one thing does remain: their love for The Simpsons. "Moaning Lisa Smile" was inspired by the character Lisa Simpson and is named after the season 1 episode "Moaning Lisa," which is still Rowsell's favorite Simpsons episode.

"Especially the old Simpsons just gets it right with just the right amount of life lesson," Rowsell says.