Artist: Wild Beasts
Album: Two Dancers
Year: 2009
Grade: 4.5 pretzels
I downloaded Wild Beasts’ Two Dancers knowing basically nothing about the band. A pile of good press and a raving Pitchfork review prompted me to figure out what all the hubbub was about. I did know they were an English band and that they were the latest in the endless cycle of much-ballyhooed London bands that burn out in about three weeks. “Hype” plus “English rock band” hasn’t been a great recipe for success this decade. However, within about forty-five seconds of listening to Two Dancers, it became readily apparent that Wild Beasts are, well, a different beast entirely.
Vocals are the dominant force in Wild Beasts’ music, as is the case with many of their Brindie rock peers. However, virtually none of those bands have singers with the ability/balls to sing like Hayden Thorpe, whose soaring falsetto is the band’s calling card. Thorpe possesses a truly otherworldly, gender-annihilating voice. The closest comparison I can make is Kate Bush, since both have voices that veer from beautiful to jarring from moment to moment. However, this comparison has issues, not the least of which is the obvious gender difference. Thorpe simply doesn’t really sound like any other singer I’ve ever heard.
Thankfully, Wild Beasts don’t get bogged down in the novelty of such a unique voice. The songs on Two Dancers seem built to contain and complement Thorpe’s heavily dramatized style, with lots of subtle surges and riffs skipping around in the background. The end result is a shimmering album of moody, intense music. There’s not much “rock,” in the traditional sense of things, but the music still has an eerie, slightly unidentifiable sense of urgency to it. A perfect example of this would be the jaw-dropping lead single, “Hooting & Howling”. The song starts with two quick verses of Thorpe’s evocatively odd lyrics, set against a simple bassline. At that point, the song is sitting on the fence between darkness and light and a simple push could tip it either way, which finally happens when some heavy piano chords drag the song down. From there, the rhythm begins to pick up and a glistening guitar riff is added. Wild Beasts seem to be masters of this type of unpredictable song evolution.
Wild Beasts seem to have mapped out a fairly unique niche for themselves. They have no qualms about sounding affected and slightly fabricated, as Thorpe’s falsetto can testify to. By definition, falsetto is an affected voice, creating a layer of separation between the listener and the singer’s real, “honest” voice. However, theatrics in music can be a lot of fun, especially when done this well. Two Dancers does stumble a bit here and there, especially when bassist Tom Fleming takes over the vocals. While Fleming does have a pleasant, deep voice (which also serves as a nice counterpoint), after Thorpe’s crooning leaves its stamp on the listener, more traditional voices sound a bit drab. Thorpe’s voice gives Wild Beasts’ music its character, especially when he goes nuts stretching out every vowel sound, as he does on “The Fun Powder Plot”. Hopefully, the band and Thorpe’s vocal chords will allow Wild Beasts to keep making music this wonderfully weird and enjoyable.
Vocals are the dominant force in Wild Beasts’ music, as is the case with many of their Brindie rock peers. However, virtually none of those bands have singers with the ability/balls to sing like Hayden Thorpe, whose soaring falsetto is the band’s calling card. Thorpe possesses a truly otherworldly, gender-annihilating voice. The closest comparison I can make is Kate Bush, since both have voices that veer from beautiful to jarring from moment to moment. However, this comparison has issues, not the least of which is the obvious gender difference. Thorpe simply doesn’t really sound like any other singer I’ve ever heard.
Thankfully, Wild Beasts don’t get bogged down in the novelty of such a unique voice. The songs on Two Dancers seem built to contain and complement Thorpe’s heavily dramatized style, with lots of subtle surges and riffs skipping around in the background. The end result is a shimmering album of moody, intense music. There’s not much “rock,” in the traditional sense of things, but the music still has an eerie, slightly unidentifiable sense of urgency to it. A perfect example of this would be the jaw-dropping lead single, “Hooting & Howling”. The song starts with two quick verses of Thorpe’s evocatively odd lyrics, set against a simple bassline. At that point, the song is sitting on the fence between darkness and light and a simple push could tip it either way, which finally happens when some heavy piano chords drag the song down. From there, the rhythm begins to pick up and a glistening guitar riff is added. Wild Beasts seem to be masters of this type of unpredictable song evolution.
Wild Beasts seem to have mapped out a fairly unique niche for themselves. They have no qualms about sounding affected and slightly fabricated, as Thorpe’s falsetto can testify to. By definition, falsetto is an affected voice, creating a layer of separation between the listener and the singer’s real, “honest” voice. However, theatrics in music can be a lot of fun, especially when done this well. Two Dancers does stumble a bit here and there, especially when bassist Tom Fleming takes over the vocals. While Fleming does have a pleasant, deep voice (which also serves as a nice counterpoint), after Thorpe’s crooning leaves its stamp on the listener, more traditional voices sound a bit drab. Thorpe’s voice gives Wild Beasts’ music its character, especially when he goes nuts stretching out every vowel sound, as he does on “The Fun Powder Plot”. Hopefully, the band and Thorpe’s vocal chords will allow Wild Beasts to keep making music this wonderfully weird and enjoyable.
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