album review: what's the time mr wolf - noisettes (2007)
23 sep 2026
i really love and respect criticism as an art form. video essays have been having a huge moment recently, led by people like jenny nicholson and hbomberguy who have a real talent for isolating why they like or dislike something, and expressing it in detail with passion. but even before i watched jenny nicholson's review of the star wars hotel or hbomberguy's review of rwby, i loved reading reviews online. there's so much pleasure to be had in looking up a piece of media that gave you strong feelings, and learning more about how it works.
in fact, most of the reason i made this blog was as an excuse to write reviews, but i haven't sat down and posted a single one yet. it's hard to think of good stuff to say! especially for music, and most of the media that i consume is music: when a song is just really really good, it's hard to think of much to say except "wow, i love this song."
but reviews do also serve a second purpose, and that's simply letting people know that something exists. so i'm here to tell the world: what's the time mr wolf by noisettes is a criminally underrated rock album.
what's the time mr wolf - noisettes (2007)
shingai shoniwa is the twinkling star of the album1, and her vocals are some of the most dynamic i've ever heard. the way she moves from low, soft singing to flat out screaming is just incredible. my favourite song on the album, I WE, is the best showcase of shingai's vocal craziness; diy magazine said that it's a mess of noise, and all i can say to that is that they just don't get it. i am almost as enamoured by shingai's softer side: the count of monte christo has a poetic swing to it that i enjoy very much, and hierarchy is lovely, haunting, and my second favourite song on the album.
it's not just the shingai show though; the mix of styles from the rest of the band gives the album its character. the guitar has some nice indie twiddling, so while a lot of the songs like don't give up and sister rosetta are quite classic rock and roll, the band's more modern british indie rock sensibilities give the album its own identity. two particularly lovely guitar parts are hierarchy, and the opening of speed horn.
though i haven't earned it, i feel a little connected to noisettes - they're from south london, not too far from where i grew up2. i was an emo on social media in 2015, and i wanted to bang my head against a wall listening to people praise fall out boy's lyrics for being sooo clever and funny, when i found them self-aggrandising and incredibly tryhard. by contrast, noisettes are MY people, and i love the cheeky, extremely english delivery of their lyrics.
so if this album is so great, why does nobody remember it? i honestly have no idea. i haven't looked too hard into the history of noisettes, but i think they did have a fair bit of success back then - they just haven't stood the test of time. they have one more recent album, wild young hearts (2009), which has some good songs but doesn't speak to me nearly as much. luckily for me, shingai hasn't completely disappeared since noisettes broke up: she released a solo album, too bold, in 2020. it's an electronic pop album about her life experiences as a black british woman, and it's very very good. i might give that album its own review one day. no more screaming though - too bad.
in conclusion, if you love singers who inject raw, bubbling emotion into every line, what's the time mr wolf is the rock album for you. for me, it's an all time favourite. one of these days i'll give don't give up a crack for a (probably quite insulting) karaoke rendition. i would do I WE, but i'm scared.
until next time,
mzw☆
^1 not from this album, so i've relegated it to footnotes, but watch this performance of atticus if you want to see shingai's charisma: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDg6pBMlsI4.
^2 though londoners would never claim me as their own.
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