On the eve of the release of his fifth studio album, The Student met up with Patrick Wolf on the Glasgow leg of his world tour, and found an artist eagerly anticipating the next stage of his career.

Wolf’s 2007 LP, The Bachelor was a dark and brooding experience that provided a window onto his tortured soul, but his latest release is altogether more uplifting. Wolf’s music has always been deeply influenced by his personal experience and emotions, as he explained: “all my albums are just documents of how I’m feeling at that time”, and his latest, Lupercalia, due for release in June, is no different.

Current single, The City, sums up Patrick’s new positive sound, which can be described as nothing less than a summer feel-good hit, even featuring a saxaphone solo! However as Patrick explained, the overall change in musical style was due to a change in his outlook: “I wanted this album to be more optimistic. The story of the last album didn’t end in a happy space; it was just a big question mark rather than feeling that I answered some questions about my life and myself, so I really wanted to make sure that the album after The Bachelor was very much about settling down and enjoying life.”

Lupercalia also differs from its predecessor as it was produced on a major record deal, whereas The Bachelor was very much Patrick’s own pet project, using an innovative method of raising funds, known as Bandstocks, where fans contribute financially to the production of an album in return for acknowledgement, and a share of the album’s proceeds. This allows the artist greater control over the album’s production, but does come with some drawbacks: “It was really liberating at first, but I felt as if I was being swamped down with money aspects of everything. I’d rather just not worry about my finances, which I know is a bit stupid, but I’d rather just be focused 100% on my music”.

Having previously worked with a number of artists, including Edward Larkin and Marianne Faithfull, Patrick has since abandoned his penchant for collaborations: “I think there was a big moment where I thought ‘I can do this on my own,’ just because it’s really cool and trendy and commercial to do duets right now, I thought I should do the complete opposite, and make something extremely personal, with one continuous voice throughout the whole album”.s

This sense of self confidence is not something that has always come so naturally to Patrick. During his previous two albums he has famously struggled with bouts of depression, as well as some infamously hard partying. “I wasn’t really a settled person at that point in life,” he explained, “I had no idea about myself or my emotions or what I was capable, good or bad. This album is very different, it’s a lot more grown up and mature. I want to grow into being an adult and I don’t want to regress lyrically or musically”. This attitude has also translated itself into his live performances.

Gone are the flamboyant outfits, to be replaced with a more elegant style, as he explained, “It’s just a different type of show. I just feel more confident in not having to put on so many suits of armour. I want to focus more on my musicianship and my song-writing, as well as the delivery of my voice, and putting on not just a chaotic show that leaves people with a smile on their face”.

When Patrick finally takes to the stage, in front of his freakishly dedicated and loyal fan base, who are out in force at Oran Mor, his newly found maturity becomes immediately apparent. Wolf’s performance is full of confidence and swagger, despite the well over six foot singer almost having to duck below the ceiling of the tiny stage.

This performance could almost be a greatest hits collection, with all his most high profile tracks making an appearance; including: Accident and Emergency, recent single The City, and Tristan. Wolf jumps gleefully off the stage to prance and sing amongst the audience, much to their obvious delight. However, more intense fans might feel slightly disappointed at the lack of experimentation and variety on offer.

All things considered this is a performance that is testament to Patrick Wolf’s incredible musical and song writing talents. By the time the encore is rounded off, with the rapturously received, The Magic Position, Patrick’s flawless voice and multi-instrumental wizardry, certainly succeeded in putting on a great show, but still left a smile on everyone’s face.