Song Stories: Wolf Alice: Don't Delete the Kisses
Released in 2017 as the second single from the bands Mercury Prize winning album 'Visions of a Life'. 'Don't Delete the Kisses' is one of the best love songs of recent memory. A masterclass in dream-pop storytelling, blending shoegaze textures with confessional spoken-word lyrics. It’s a song that feels both deeply personal and universally relatable, a soundtrack for the moments where the love for someone teeters between hesitation and hope.
From the opening moments, Don’t Delete the Kisses envelops the listener in a haze of dreamy synths and echoing guitars, setting the tone for an intimate journey through love and self-doubt. The production, handled by Justin Meldal-Johnsen (known for his work with M83 and Paramore), leans heavily into the ethereal and cinematic, eschewing the grungy intensity found elsewhere on 'Visions of a Life'. Instead, it embraces a hypnotic, shoegaze-influenced soundscape, reminiscent of bands like Cocteau Twins and My Bloody Valentine.
The song’s heartbeat comes from its steady, understated beat, which gives the track a sense of forward motion—like a late-night train ride where one is left alone with their thoughts. This feeling of movement is fitting, as the lyrics capture the way love often unfolds: gradually, hesitantly, with moments of both doubt and overwhelming certainty. Ellie Rowsell’s vocal delivery is hushed and intimate, almost spoken, as though she is whispering a confession into the night air.
Right from the first verse, she lays bare the tension between wanting to fall in love and fearing its consequences.
At its core, Don’t Delete the Kisses is a song about overthinking, about the way we sabotage our own happiness by second-guessing what feels too good to be true. The title itself—referring to deleting affectionate kisses from a text out of insecurity, perfectly encapsulates the small but significant ways we let fear get in the way of connection.
As the song progresses, the protagonist moves through a cycle of emotions, from doubt to daydreaming to tentative hope. Rowsell’s spoken-word verses feel almost stream-of-consciousness, mirroring the spiraling thoughts that come with romantic uncertainty. Then, something shifts. The song begins to break free from hesitation, growing in confidence. In the final verse, Rowsell allows herself to believe in a happy ending
In the broader context of 'Visions of a Life', 'Don’t Delete the Kisses' stands out as one of the album’s most tender and introspective moments. The album, as a whole, is a sprawling and ambitious project, weaving between genres and emotions with ease. From the feral aggression of 'Yuk Foo' to the haunting, shape-shifting title track, Visions of a Life is an album that explores the highs and lows of existence with both unfiltered rawness and poetic beauty.
Where songs like 'Formidable Cool' and 'Space & Time' channel restlessness and rebellion, 'Don’t Delete the Kisses' provides a softer contrast. It offers a rare moment of vulnerability, stripping back the noise to reveal something delicate and deeply human. It also serves as a companion piece to the album’s other romantic musings, such as 'Heavenward', which deals with love and loss on a more ethereal, transcendent level.
In a world where love is often complicated by social media, ghosting, and endless over analysis, Don’t Delete the Kisses feels like an anthem for the romantics who still dare to believe. The song captures the essence of modern romance, the hesitation, the self-doubt, and ultimately, the leap of faith it requires to let love into your life.
Its enduring appeal lies in its honesty. Wolf Alice don’t offer a neatly packaged love story with a perfect ending; instead, they present love as it really is, messy, uncertain, but ultimately worth the risk. The happy ending still arrives but the songs narrator is required to let it find her, and experiences all of the trials and tribulations that comes with getting there.
The song has gone on to become one of the bands most well loved songs, perfectly embracing everything that makes the band great. At the time the song was a huge leap forward from what the band had done previously, it's swirling melody, glittering guitars and cinematic feel turned Wolf Alice from indie kids, to vying for the crown to be Britain's best band.
Thank you for reading x
Jack