Photo: WENN
Manchester’s Albert Hall is a barely refurbished combination of ornate, Gothic architecture and ramshackle glazed tiles. But as Wild Beasts take the stage in the former Methodist chapel it is transformed into a renewed hall of pious worship.
Lead vocalist Hayden Thorpe adopts a polite persona, oddly like Paul Heaton but with the crooning vocal range of Antony Hegarty. While his celestial aura proves a sophisticated presence, he is mirrored by the darker, more carnal energy of Tom Fleming. They complement each other beautifully, forming what could be one of contemporary music’s most unique vocal pairings.
As a band, Wild Beasts’ breadth is truly impressive. From soaring elegies like ‘Mecca’ to laser-tinged slow-build stompers like ‘Daughters’, the cuts from latest album ‘Present Tense’ sound fresh, original and never out of their comfort zone. Four to the floor hymns are not fist-pumping, but heart-wrenchingly joyful, celebrated in the hook-laden ‘A Simple Beautiful Truth’ and ‘The Devil’s Crayon’, which is welcomed like an old friend. ‘Hooting & Howling’ is heroically received, but gives way to a lull which doesn’t rekindle until the band return for a very self-conscious encore – the audience are thanked for playing along with the “schmooze” of it all.
The throb of ‘Wanderlust’ rattles the hall around us as it pulses to life, sounding like a missing cut from the film ‘Drive’, its haunting intensity amplified by the live setting and Thorpe’s purr, now graduated to a possessed growl.
‘All The King’s Men’ is an anthemic call to action that caps the night with one true sing-along moment that feels neither contrived nor forced upon an appreciative crowd.
Tonight Wild Beasts demonstrated a band sincerely devoted to their craft. They create cacophonies of noise so perfectly composed that you can almost sense divine intervention rewarding a crowd of the converted.
Wild Beasts played:
Reach a Bit Further
Mecca
Sweet Spot
The Devil's Crayon
Pregnant Pause
A Simple Beautiful Truth
Daughters
Hooting & Howling
This Is Our Lot
Loop the Loop
A Dog's Life
Bed of Nails
Nature Boy
Palace
Encore:
Wanderlust
All the King's Men
Lion's Share
End Come Too Soon
