The Lexicon: I Saw Wulfer Glowing

By Alexis Schlesinger

Editorial Staff

Toby Cotton-Selman / THE GATEPOST

Throughout my college experience, I have rarely had classes on Fridays. Normally, it’s something I sort of take for granted. On Friday, Feb. 6, having no classes was a miracle. Ashleigh Wulf - otherwise known as “Wulfer” - released “I Love My TV,” her first full-length album, on Feb. 6. The album’s release was celebrated with a show at 8 p.m. that night. In New York. I drove four hours to New York to see this show, and I’ll never forget it. This show was nothing short of life-altering. Ashleigh Wulf is an incredible and rare talent who needs to be celebrated. I’ve been a Wulfer fan since I first saw her perform at one of my favorite house venues. That show also changed the trajectory of my life in so many ways, but that’s another long story. Wulfer was local to Boston for quite some time before moving down to New York. I fell in love with her music after hearing her self-titled EP “Wulfer” live for the first time. Her frequent use of guitar and vocal effects is slightly reminiscent of the Boston scene’s abundance of shoegaze music, but her music is taken in a completely different direction than most artists within that genre. Her songs are soft, nostalgic, and thoughtful. Swelling emotion is sewn into every word and every note. Knowing this, I decided not to listen to “I Love My TV” the morning it came out, but to save the listening experience for the live show. The Stone Circle Theatre was a fantastic choice of venue for this release show. The theatre space is inside a small church, tucked away in a neighborhood in Ridgewood, New York. The room was dimly lit with soft blue lighting, and a projection of T.V. static behind the stage. There was plenty of seating for attendees in the pews. The serene setting perfectly matched Wulfer’s album, and every song that played got its own visualizer played from the projector. Each short video was unique, and reflected the storytelling of its respective track. The show was opened by solo artists “People I love” and “Retail Drugs.” I was pleasantly surprised to find out that Jake Brooks, of Retail Drugs, was also a band member of “Laveda,” a band whose set I had seen in the summer. Following the two opening sets, Wulfer played through the entire album, joined by Aaron Fitgerald on electric guitar, and Mia Timson, who played a shruti box. The three musicians played through every track of the album, though not in its original release order. After streaming the album after the show, it’s hard to say which order I would’ve preferred. Regardless, this is a no-skip album. The 17-track album took about 40 minutes to play through with almost no breaks. Transitions were smooth, despite the album being played out of order. When listening to music, I am always most impacted by lyrics. This set had me in awe - and in tears - the entire time. Of the whole set, my favorite song by far is “I Saw Her Glowing.” This song is yearning on steroids. It’s everything you want to say to someone you love deeply who you don’t have anymore. It’s poetry, it’s a love letter, it’s a flame. “You were on fire. I’d been tired, so I burned, and I burned, and I burned in your burning arms.” I’ve had the whole album on repeat since its release, but “I Saw Her Glowing” has really taken over my headphones. Another song that particularly captured me was “Thought of You.” This was one of three songs released as singles prior to the full album release, so I had heard it before the show. This song is already sure to pull at your heart, but hearing it live adds an extra rawness to the lyrics. Wulfer sings earnestly in the beginning, “It’s the thought of you, that’s sticking to my room, and my clothes,” but adds later on, “I think that I was in love with you, but I don’t really know.” Me though? I can confidently say, with 100% certainty - “I Love My TV.”