Hailing from Kendal, England, Wild Beasts formed in 2002, and over the course of the next decade and a half, they gained a reputation as one of the most respected and acclaimed indie bands around. It\u2019s always hard describing a band like Wild Beasts\u2019 music, as it has varied over the years; they\u2019re always experimental, but sometimes seemingly to their detriment. If they were a film genre, I\u2019d say it\u2019s art house. The band had a fiercely loyal early following, which at times expanded beyond their native land, but never on a large scale. That\u2019s not to say they didn\u2019t deserve a greater audience \u2013 I for one think they should have, but as with many bands these days, it\u2019s an all too common thought. <\/p>\n
Since releasing their debut album Limbo, Panto<\/i> in 2008, the band was constantly at work either in the studio or on the road. Their 2011 effort Smother<\/i> was so highly rated that the band spent the next two years touring the word behind it before heading back to the studio and cutting Present Tense<\/i>, released in early 2014. On Present Tense,<\/i> the band employed a more minimalistic approach to their soundscape, thus somewhat making a more accessible record. The falsetto vocals were still there to keep it from straying too far from their established sound. <\/p>\n
For their fifth studio album, the band headed to Dallas, Texas and began work alongside producer John Congleton, also a writer, musician, and obsessive programmer, who has produced and electronically aided (for better or worse) works by the likes of The Killers, Marilyn Manson, St. Vincent, and Blondie. I saw the credits for this album prior to my purchasing it, so when I read that Congleton had produced it, I was instantly curious. The Beasts were no strangers to throwing a bit of electronica into the mix, but they hadn\u2019t gone full synth pop mode \u2013 until now, of course. <\/p>\n
Boy King<\/i> was the result of the collaboration with Congleton and featured the line-up of Hayden Thorpe (vocals, bass, keyboards and programming), Ben Little (guitars, keys and programming), Tom Flemming (vocals, keys, programming, and samples), and Chris Talbot (drums, keys, and percussion). <\/p>\n
This album is credited as \u201ca concept album focusing on self-destructive effects of modern day masculinity.\u201d However, I feel it\u2019s more the boys lamenting over the fact that the \u201clad culture\u201d of their youth is a somewhat outdated one which they feel the need to defend. Its passive aggressive and almost petulant lyrics at times let down what otherwise could have been a wonderful synth-pop inspired experiment. <\/p>\n
Sonically, Boy King<\/i> sounds sharp and moody, and as with anything that Congleton produces, it treads that fine line of being polished, but not overly so. Thorpe\u2019s beautiful falsetto vocals are always a treat to hear, but he tones it down a bit here and explores other areas of his voice, which is a nice touch. <\/p>\n
There are some genuinely exciting tracks here: the distorted guitars and punchy rhythm of \u201cTough Guy\u201d is a highlight, as is the superb electro-pop of \u201cGet My Bang.\u201d The understated opener \u201cBig Cat\u201d allows Thorpe\u2019s vocals to shine. It\u2019s a seductive approach that is in contrast to the chest-puffing lyrics: \u201cOn heat, big cat got a mean streak \/ No match for this athlete.\u201d <\/p>\n
The lads explore these themes addressing their sexuality, chasing women, and dealing with competition not as a social commentary but more as a pissing contest. \u201cAlpha Female\u201d is the third track into the album and it\u2019s already getting repetitive; however, the sheer brilliance that is \u201cCelestial Creatures\u201d makes up for it. <\/p>\n
\u201c2BU\u201d is a softly executed but again menacing in its dreamlike state, and \u201cHe The Colossus\u201d turns up the self-pity to maniacal levels (\u201cDo I dare to disturb the universe? \/ Lest I crush the softest among us \/ The universe has us locked in a death spin \/ Not enough fucking and too much of wondering\u201d).<\/p>\n
More of the same follows with casual hook-ups explored on \u201cPonytail\u201d (Flemming takes the lead vocals for this one) and \u201cEat Your Heart Out Adonis\u201d (\u201cCarnivores just want the dark meat\u201d) which are both fine examples of modern-day synth pop. But by now, with the singular theme in constant exploration, there\u2019s no more life left in this thing. <\/p>\n
Right at the very end, we get the only glimpse of a vulnerable, tortured soul with the meditative ballad \u201cDreamliner,\u201d which Thorpe stated was crucial to the album\u2019s narrative. After all the laddish bravado, there\u2019s a glimpse of the boy inside the man. It\u2019s a nice note to end the album on, but it also shows that had these themes been explored on a deeper and more nuanced level, Boy King could have been so much more than a one-trick pony, albeit a sonically enchanting one.<\/p>\n
Post-script: Wild Beasts amicably disbanded in 2017, each looking to pursue different interests with Thorpe dropping his minimalist solo debut album Diviner<\/i> last year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":67,"featured_media":34117,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"artist":[10546],"rating":[5612],"class_list":["post-45948","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-wild-beasts","rating-rating-b-minus"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/45948","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/67"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45948"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/45948\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34117"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45948"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=45948"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=45948"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}