Fans of one of the most unique bands to emerge from Britain’s music scene hold high hopes for Smother, the Wild Beasts’ third album. After their previous album Two Dancers’ critical acclaim in the form of a Mercury Prize nomination, fans cannot help but wait impatiently to establish whether they emerge triumphant from this album’s offering of 10 tracks or whether they smother all hopes of maintaining their prior successes. What is perhaps the band’s most notable attribute is lead singer Hayden Thorpe’s falsetto vocals which lends the band a unique and, dare I say it, camp sound which almost leaves it impossible to place in the wide spectrum that is genre.
This album is rather more mellow and generally slower paced than its predecessor which includes tracks such as the brilliant and vibrant All the King’s Men. Instead, this album begins with the very minimalist Lion’s Share which fuses a simple piano melody with a modern edge. This understated opening compliments Thorpe’s vocals perfectly as he describes wooing a lady out of animalistic passion in the metaphorical terms of a lion hunting prey. The album continues in a similar vein as, in Bed of Nails, Thorpe sings of the sacrifices he would make for a lover: “I would lie anywhere with you, any old bed of nails would do”. Bassist Tom Fleming’s deeper voice is thrown into the mix in Deeper (Oh, the irony) and contrasts with Thorpe’s perfectly.
Whilst Smother still makes use of the Wild Beasts’ distinctive sound which teams quirky and unusual percussion with copious amounts of bass alongside poetic often literature inspired lyrics, the tracks seem to amalgamate to form an album-long chilled but verging on hypnotic sound which is perhaps a little monotonous. Although there is plenty to maintain WB fans’ interest, the album plods along providing listeners with little variety and is perhaps a little underwhelming. I would award Smother three out of five!
