Wild Beasts - Two Dancers

Wild Beasts are patently unafraid of provoking ridicule. Their lyrics are full of tangled and poetically inclined couplets and, as if that weren’t flamboyant enough, are intoned by vocalist Hayden Thorpe in the kind of oscillating falsetto minted most recently by Justin Hawkins of Darkness infamy.

While this refusal to kowtow to the accepted mores of indie drudgery is eternally commendable, there are too many times on Two Dancers where hollowness takes precedence over heart. It’s hard to quibble with the driving pulse of single Hooting & Howling, but the repetitious refrain becomes boring and then infuriating all too quickly. Two Dancers is much more appealing when it goes easier on the histrionics.

The Fun Powder Plot eases in gently on an irresistible wave of chiming guitars and minor-key sadness while All The King’s Men and the title track benefit from the contribution of bassist Tom Fleming whose sonorous tones provide an appealing counterpoint to Thorpe’s more singular approach.