Wild Beasts - 'Smother' (Domino Records) Released: 09/05/11

In the world of Wild Beasts, where lions, beds of nails and burning coals appear on a regular basis, you can imagine that a poisoned chalice is that exact type of obstacle that, sooner or later, was bound to crop up.  However, with the success, of their last LP, ‘Two Dancers’, which brought with it, as well as a critical acclaim and an expansively wider audience, an unsuccessful Mercury Music Award nomination, the band may have already avoided drinking from one such cursed vessel.
 
The Mercury Music award has, in the past, exploded bands into the public sphere, only for them to later disappear or else implode under the weight of new expectation. At the very least winners often second guess themselves by attempting a sudden change of direction with their next step (Jamie XX is already onto collaboration albums!) but, on 'Smother', we don’t find any such lateral leaps.
 
Instead the boys take a more organic approach to progress, working through their songs and giving them what they need. The result is a wonderful album that at once feels adventurous and at home in its own skin.
 
The album also seems to feel at home in other people’s skins. Many of the songs deal directly with sexual desire, but always in an almost ludicrously unthreatening way. ‘Plaything’ for example, which is, predictably, about possession, never forgets its manners. “New squeeze take, of your chemise” sounds more like a reasonable request than an imperious demand or desperate plea.
 
The balance between threats and comforts present in the lyrics is also present in the vocal arrangements, which are split between Hayden Thorpe and Ben Little. Whilst Thrope’s voice sears over the songs, venturing off into the furthest reaches of its range with all the bravado of a wandering hand, Little’s voice has a smooth reassuring quality, in the mould of Elbow’s Guy Garvey. They play off each other brilliantly, especially on ‘Reach a Bit Further’, which, with its cries of “tear jerker, shadow lurker, wonder worker”, sounds like a chant from some haunted playground.
 
The sonic background to these ventures are beautiful if not familiar, a sparing use of electronics adding another element to the standard sparkle of arpeggios you’d expect to hear. The percussion provided by Chris Talbot deserves special mention. The play between drums, bongo and djembe would’ve made an interesting album in of itself. Though the beats are rarely as rousing as on past tracks, such as ‘All the King’s Men’, they are subtly effective, stand out track ‘Loop the Loop’ is testament to that.
 
Those who found ‘Two Dancers’ too intense an experience may want to delve into 'Smother', which being more assured, has less of a shock factor, and leaves more of a lasting impression.