Just in...Wild Beasts: Smother

    It seems like dream pop is becoming the genre to be these days, and while most of the dream pop out there has too much of a new wave flair to it, I love the post-Britpop sensibilities of Wild Beasts. Their latest effort, Smother comes out today in the U.S. on Domino Records, an independent label based out of London. This record marks a pretty definite turn from post-punk revival indie rock to indie pop; including post-Britpop (think Elbow), maybe some remnants of art rock (with a fairly connected song progression in terms of lyrical content), and perhaps even tiny bits of baroque pop (because of the minimalism ideas represented in the repetitive rhythmic drive and arpeggiated synths here and there). I press my point on art rock and baroque pop, yet shy away from such a classification because there are no long instrumental solos or harpsichord, but maybe that is just because genres are blurring more and more and it becomes increasingly difficult these days to pin something down to specifically one genre as opposed to multiple. A lot of these tracks could probbaly be considered trip hop too (the singer's vibrato definitely reminds me of Massive Attack at times). Anyway, the band described Smother as: "a more synth-oriented sound, influenced by "moving to Dalston", brazilian writer Clarice Lispector, minimalist composer Steve Reich, noise pop duo F*** Buttons and Mary Shelley's book, Frankenstein. How that all ties together, I do not know. It's an artist thing I guess.
    All in all, Smother seems very poetic in how smoothly lead singer Hayden Thorpe delivers, lyrically and vocally; though with subtly, they delve poignantly into the difficulties or intricacies of love relationships. The distinct falsetto (falsely described as a counter-tenor I think, because I've heard a real counter-tenor) voice is eerie and yet floats easily over the complexity of the music beneath it, which really helps the lyrical intent soar as of main importance. That being said, you may know I just am bad at deciphering lyrics, and I don't care so much about what the songs are trying to say as long as it fits together well with the instrumentation to create a great sound. I naively, possibly, think that in most song creation the music comes first and then lyrics are slapped on, or at least cut back to fit the structure already in place; yet, this may be one album where lyrics are as important, if not more.
    Wild Beasts' two previous albums, minus a few EPs, are Limbo, Panto (2008) and Two Dancers (2009), which received a Mercury Music Award nomination for best album. Already, Smother seems to be receiving positive critical attention, a BBC music reviewer, Mike Diver, said of Wild Beasts: "[Wild Beasts] are, right now, the most inspirational, intriguing, effortlessly enrapturing band at work [in Britain]. And Smother might well prove to be the album of 2011." We shall see.
    Hear the album entirely on Wild Beasts' MySpace here. Or, check out the track "End Come Soon" here or on the right hand side. It has a great quieter middle section and climactic return at the end, enjoy!