Words originally for Outline Magazine
Label: Domino Records
Release Date: August 5th, 2016
Boy King sees Wild Beasts as you’ve never seen them before. 2014’s Present Tense shifted towards a more retro take on the group’s signature electronic sound, a take that this, their fifth studio record, runs with to reckless abandon. Thematically, the Kendal lads strip things back to basics; an animalistic, primal vibe runs both in the song titles and the lyrics; “Big cat on top, better show me what you got / Big cat, top of the food chain”, Hayden Thorpe croons from within a cloud of dreamy bass that licks like a hungry panther. Tough Guy and Alpha Female are a tasty yin/yang that follow. The former grinds like a Jack White experiment that went wrong (or weirdly right), the latter fizzing with an iridescent electro-rock quality and delectable hooks. Tom Fleming takes the vocal helm on 2BU, a wispy and melodic number that brings the tone down to a less aggressive notch, before He The Colossus paves the route to darker depths with fuzzy guitars and neatly sequenced percussion. Ponytail strikes a perfect balance between grandeur and down-to-earth downbeat-ness in a more romantic turn that scratches and pulsates in an album of equally animate musicianship.
8/10
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