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“It’s taken us fifteen years to grow into our name”, Wild Beasts’ Hayden Thorpe explained in the run-up to latest album Boy King, “now I think we actually sound like a band called Wild Beasts.”
An undercurrent of machoism has been perpetually present through Wild Beasts’ output but not in the traditional sense. Cool groove laden instrumentals set the scene for their venereal lyrics projected through Thorpe’s provocative falsetto often tied to Tom Fleming’s low cool croon. This formula has now been shaken for something more abrupt. The Kendal four-piece now strut with a swagger they have adopted in tune with the fierce sonics of Boy King which writhes with bravado, guitar licks and confidence. This newfound energy transforms to the stage tonight for a gig which marks how far this band have come.
The band walk on in theatrical fashion as a dramatic synth builds and the audience stand bathed in a red light. The drone morphs into new album opener 'Big Cat' which is the group's ode to their own ego. "Big Cat gotta be on top", Thorpe tells his audience amongst a swoop of sludgy synth. The falsetto coda of 'We Still Got The Taste Dancin' on our Tongues' rings out next to an eerie choral response which is testament to the group’s ability of writing catchy melodies.
Wild Beasts go on to prove the strength of their back-catalogue with a number of rapturously received set staples. 'A Simple Beautiful Truth' unravels itself as a fan favourite with its chirruping panpipe keys and an enticing exchange between Fleming and Thorpe’s vastly opposing but equally exhilarating vocals. Elsewhere, the shimmering ‘Bed of Nails’ and the thunderous ‘Wanderlust’ burst to life in palpable fashion, the mood and feel which they orchestrate is cinematic and entirely enveloping in the live setting.
However, it's the Boy King cuts which come up top, the likes of 'He The Colossus' and 'Get My Bang' are illustrated by intense synths which are given permission to explore in expanded arrangements. The new tunes also serve as a spotlight moment for Fleming’s vibrant lead guitar which pulsates, screeches and even shreds on main set closer ‘Alpha Female’.
Although there are many harmonious moments between the band leaders Thorpe and Fleming, it's the lead duties which see them parading their own strengths. Fleming fronts 'Ponytail' and '2BU' in his gravitational baritone, whilst Thorpe displays his range from warbling falsetto on the primal coda of ‘Hooting & Howling’ to the gritty vocal dominating ‘Tough Guy’. "Fuck yeah, good feels!" Thorpe exclaims after a colossal ending.
Tonight sees the quartet possess the self-assurance which will grant them access to bigger leagues. It's the same shift we felt when Alex Turner slicked his hair back and started wearing leather. Thorpe now stands bequiffed himself with sleeveless denim, comfortable in the grander habitat of the London Roundhouse which he and his band have packed out for two nights. It’s a bold move for critically acclaimed darlings to shift into more wild and brash territories, but clearly their name was always destined to be a self-fulfilling prophecy. Viva Wild Beasts!
‘Big Cat’
‘We Still Got The Taste Dancing On Our Tongues’
‘Ponytail’
‘A Simple Beautiful Truth’
‘Bed of Nails’
‘He The Colossus’
‘Hooting & Howling’
‘Mecca’
‘2BU’
‘Lions Share’
‘Tough Guy’
‘Wanderlust’
‘Alpha Female’
‘Get My Bang’
‘Celestial Creatures’
‘All the King’s Men’
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