Wild Beasts - Present Tense

Prior to writing this review, I stumbled upon a recent YouTube recording of Wild Beasts performing a mellow and slightly mocking rendition of Miley Cyrus’ Wrecking Ball. I watched this video probably three or four times. This was not just because I love Wrecking Ball (who doesn’t?), but because the vocal complementation between front-men Hayden Thorpe and Tom Fleming is so damn great. Anyway, it goes without saying that Wild Beasts are much better than Miley Cyrus, and their most recent offering, Present Tense, may be their best. For those of you unfamiliar with Wild Beats, they hail from humble Kendal – home of those poignantly disgusting mint cakes. As alluded to previously, their style revolves around the vocal partnership of Thorpe and Fleming; Thorpe’s tenor punches through intricate guitar riffs and brooding synth tones, with Fleming’s harmonies bridging the space inbetween. The band started as a brilliantly flamboyant pop-rock outfit, and in succeeding albums have transformed to serious art-rockers. Some of their critics, however, have felt this has caused the fun to slowly bleed from Wild Beasts. I agree that perhaps they aren’t the most exciting live act, with some of my crueller friends calling them “Mild Beasts”, but the music speaks for itself. Are Radiohead fun? Are The xx fun? Is music even supposed to be fun? And perhaps the band agrees: in Wanderlust, the lead single of Present Tense, Thorpe sings – “Don’t confuse me with someone who gives a fuck”. No fucks given here. Present Tense itself follows on from 2011’s Smother. To progress their sound the band worked in absence of their long-time producer Richard Formby and sought out to collaborate with producers more experienced in electronic modes. This electronic component is a distinct difference from previous albums, with a large integration of synthesizers at the expense of guitar-driven melodies. This serves to add further texture to the core of most tracks, helping to convey despair when needed, as in Daughter, but also amplify beauty, as in the track New Life. Personally, I’ve become pretty obsessed with Wanderlust, a track that somewhat epitomizes the changes brought in for this album. A dark punchy bass-line, an unrelentless drum loop, a choral-esque flickering synth, an outro that is as depressed as it is angry – it’s a powerful track. As with Smother, I imagine most of the tracks will be ‘growers’, competing for my affection and attention.