Smother by Wild Beasts
I think most people who listen to indie music have that one band they feel they discovered in some cosmic way. Well, Wild Beasts is mine. I didn't really discover them, but I found a couple of tracks they had released about a year before their debut album Limbo, Panto came out. I thought they were the next movement in indie music with their operatic, steampunk sound. Limbo, Panto was amazing, and their sophomore album Two Dancers was even better. Smother comes out soon, and I gave it a few advanced listens and it is interesting. Most of the tracks are thoughtful, progressive, and sound so damn good. A few are incomplete, but still better than 99% of the bands out there.
Wild Beasts have a sense of elegance you get with bands such as Beirut and Fleet Foxes that hark on elements of music from past centuries. And Smother is a huge move for Wild Beasts in my mind, because Smother is completely different than the first two albums. They use the piano to perfection in song such as "Lion's Share" and "Albatross". Electronics weave their way in and out beautiful, sophisticated lyrics. Hayden Thorpe, known for his atomic falsetto, sticks to high pitches and tones, and Tom Fleming chimes in with his alter-ego masculine voice. The album moves along steadily and is evenly spread, and not too thinly I may add. Smother creates new sensations for me and it feels breathtaking in a small way.
I can see why someone may not like Smother as much. It doesn't have that one phenomenal track like "Devil's Crayon" or "Two Dancers", maybe "Albatross" fits that bill, but I think it has a deeper repertoire. I truly love this album and it has some great nooks and crannies that need discovering. It has some kinks that could have been worked out before hand, but these guys are so good at getting their sound correct. Which is hard to do on your third album with such a distinct sound. If you haven't listened to them before, check out their first two albums first. The progression of Wild Beasts has been joyful and I think their future is bright still.
Rating = 8.5
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