Wild Beasts // Present Tense
Nice yes, but we find ourselves looking for an “Eat Me. Drink Me” to take the adventure on a different direction.
The return of Wild Beasts signals a sharp wisp of breathy anticipation. I’m a fan. Citing carnal Fauvism as their mood board for their first couple of releases, both ‘Limbo Panto’ and ‘Two Dancers’ were like throwing yourself down the rabbit hole. They created such a Wonderland warren that you never knew which end of pace or pitch you were being thrown towards. ‘Smother’ gathered its wits slightly; perhaps the ride has to come to an end sometimes. Still, their imaginative songwriting and devastating passing the vocal baton between cerebral Hayden and snarling Tom made it a journey worth taking nonetheless. With ‘Present Tense’, they have embraced their maturity and togetherness, but I find their 80s sonic references a little lazy. In their early days, they were a band as influenced by post-impressionistic art as they were music; they were the disfunction and brash colour of Matisse and now they appear as one-dimensional as Nagel’s ‘Rio’ cover for Duran Duran. Incidentally, the backdrop sounds a bit Duran Duran. That’s not to say it’s not palatable; ‘Wanderlust’, the lead single, still has that tumbling giddiness that’s trademark of the Kendal band, and the others glide past in a perfectly digestible parade. ‘Daughters’ is rhythmic and tender, ‘Mecca’ makes the most of Hayden’s celestial crooning and ‘New Life’ is the most ambitiously sparse of their collection so far. Nice yes, but we find ourselves looking for an “Eat Me. Drink Me” to take the adventure on a different direction. 6.5/10 Emma R. Garwood
The return of Wild Beasts signals a sharp wisp of breathy anticipation. I’m a fan. Citing carnal Fauvism as their mood board for their first couple of releases, both ‘Limbo Panto’ and ‘Two Dancers’ were like throwing yourself down the rabbit hole. They created such a Wonderland warren that you never knew which end of pace or pitch you were being thrown towards. ‘Smother’ gathered its wits slightly; perhaps the ride has to come to an end sometimes. Still, their imaginative songwriting and devastating passing the vocal baton between cerebral Hayden and snarling Tom made it a journey worth taking nonetheless. With ‘Present Tense’, they have embraced their maturity and togetherness, but I find their 80s sonic references a little lazy. In their early days, they were a band as influenced by post-impressionistic art as they were music; they were the disfunction and brash colour of Matisse and now they appear as one-dimensional as Nagel’s ‘Rio’ cover for Duran Duran. Incidentally, the backdrop sounds a bit Duran Duran. That’s not to say it’s not palatable; ‘Wanderlust’, the lead single, still has that tumbling giddiness that’s trademark of the Kendal band, and the others glide past in a perfectly digestible parade. ‘Daughters’ is rhythmic and tender, ‘Mecca’ makes the most of Hayden’s celestial crooning and ‘New Life’ is the most ambitiously sparse of their collection so far. Nice yes, but we find ourselves looking for an “Eat Me. Drink Me” to take the adventure on a different direction. 6.5/10 Emma R. Garwood
