"Moaning Lisa Smile" is a song by English

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from mainstream or commerci ...

band

Wolf Alice Wolf Alice are an English rock band from London, England. Formed in 2010 as an acoustic duo comprising singer Ellie Rowsell and guitarist Joff Oddie, Wolf Alice have also featured bassist Theo Ellis and drummer Joel Amey since 2012. Wolf Ali ...

. It was released on 3 April 2014 as a single from their second EP, '' Creature Songs'' (2014). It also appears on the US edition of their debut album, '' My Love Is Cool'' (2015). The song reached number 9 on the Alternative Songs chart and was nominated for the

Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance The Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards. According to the 54th Grammy Awards description guide it is designed for s ...

at the

58th Annual Grammy Awards The 58th Annual Grammy Awards was held on February 15, 2016, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. The ceremony recognizes the best recordings, compositions and artists of the eligibility year, which was from October 1, 2014, to September 30, 20 ...

. The song was re-released as a single in April 2015 in the US, marking their first single release in the US. It was released on vinyl with "Giant Peach" featured as a B-side.

Live performances

The band made their US TV debut on '' Conan'' on 16 June 2015 with a performance of "Moaning Lisa Smile". They also performed the song on ''

The Late Late Show with James Corden ''The Late Late Show with James Corden'' (also known as ''Late Late'') is an American late-night talk show on CBS. It is the fourth and current iteration of '' The Late Late Show''. Airing in the U.S. from Monday to Friday nights at 12:37:28a ...

'' on 11 August.

In popular culture

"Moaning Lisa Smile" is featured in an episode of '' The Leftovers''. It also appeared in the promotional trailer of '' Arrows mid-season three premiere, as well as on the soundtrack of the video game '' MLB The Show 16''. In January 2018, the song featured in

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...

's promotional trailer for '' Baptiste''.

Music video

The music video for "Moaning Lisa Smile" was uploaded to the band's

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

channel on 26 May 2014. It was directed by Ozzie Pullin. Lead singer

Ellie Rowsell Ellen Ciara Rowsell (born 19 July 1992) is an English singer and musician from North London. She serves as the lead vocalist and guitarist of the Mercury Prize winning indie rock band Wolf Alice. Rowsell is known for her soprano voice. Early ...

stated that the song was inspired by their "favorite 8-year-old girl,

Lisa Simpson Lisa Marie Simpson is a fictional character in the animated television series ''The Simpsons''. She is the middle child and most accomplished of the Simpson family. Voiced by Yeardley Smith, Lisa was born as a character in '' The Tracey Ullman ...

," further elaborating: "We wanted to create a Lisa-type character and follow her in a pursuit to happiness. Although faced with obstacles in the shape of some nasty bitches, Lisa soon finds the group who make her feel like she belongs."

Track listing

US 7" single

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of "Moaning Lisa Smile". * Catherine Marks – production, mixing * Paul Edouard Laurendeau – engineering * Robin Schmidt – mastering

Charts

References

{{authority control 2015 songs 2015 singles Dirty Hit singles Wolf Alice songs Songs written by Ellie Rowsell