Wild Beasts - Smother
by Maarten Schiethart
published: 30 / 6 / 2011
Label:
Domino Records
Format: CD
intro
Ezquisite-sounding, yet imperfect third album from the Mercury Prize-nominated Wild Beasts
Excitement knows no end; Wild Beasts seem totally absent from this year's Summer Do's, yet still they release one of the finest Britpop albums of 2011. 'Smother' is the Wild Beasts’ all conclusive third album, on which their poignant yet elegant melodic pop stance at long last becomes apparent. The name Wild Beasts works like an antidote to their smart indie pop sound. Wise composers that they are, Wild Beasts aptly merge faded-out electronica melodies and sturdy rhymes, resulting in a mish-mash very much in the Wild Beasts’ own style. ‘Smother' features nothing but joyful poptunes that could go straight on top of the playlists with Radio 1 and 2, and hit you for six whilst at it. Dismissed perhaps as forgetful, only a few songs , however, remain there at the top of the bill. 'Smother' wanders on and off a bit. It is impossible to ever like Wild Beasts, because of the nasal undertone in the vocals from their lead singer Hayley Thorpe. I had never thought of Wild Beasts as such, yet they are the clumsy answer to Coldplay. The Wild Beasts’ progress is built around finding a balance. Expectations were raised high, and were based on the strength of the first two Wild Beasts LPs, thus I examined 'Smother' using my magnifying glass. Yet still I only heard exquisite melody lines, although perhaps not always leading into perfection.
Track Listing:-
1 Lion's Share2 Bed Of Nails
3 Deeper
4 Loop The Loop
5 Plaything
6 Invisible
7 Albatross
8 Reach A Bit Further
9 Burning
10 End Come Too Soon
Label Links:-
http://www.dominorecordco.com/https://www.facebook.com/DominoRecordCo
https://twitter.com/DominoRecordCo
https://www.youtube.com/user/DominoRecords
https://plus.google.com/+DominoRecords
reviews |
Two Dancers (2009) |
Inventive-sounding pop on quicly released second album from Cumbria-formed indie guitar group, Wild Beasts |
Limbo, Panto (2008) |
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