Wild Beasts will play with your Heartstrings

It’s as if something you are trying to grasp is slipping away and you have no control of it.  Hearing lead singer Hayden Thorpe’s voice vibrates throughout the song escalating emotions and feelings only a he can do.  With accompaniment of his band, and a diverse array of sounds, Wild Beasts new album Smother shows the new development and strength and range in their sound.  Thorpe’s vocals are more tame throughout this album, but it shows the power that he has with his falsetto range, bringing darkness and lingering of sorrow that is held behind his words.

Smother is the third album for this British band now located in London.  Their previous albums had more of a sharp, unsettling, and dark tone to it, while their new album reflects a more sensual and intimate sound.  The album’s theme is based on love songs that the band has created to flow together, vocalizing different views and perspectives of relationships.   Each song starts off grasping your attention by the varying sounds and fluidity in each song, and, while listening to the lyrics, you are able to get lost in these mysterious and dream like states, listening to the stories, and envisioning the struggle between either you and your desires/demons, or ones that Thorpe has created.

Their first single of the album is Albratross is a very simple song, but with loaded lyrics and accompanies a great video.  The movements of a dancer are greatly interpreted by the lyrics, moving within a confined space, exerting her body to show struggle within herself and Thorpe’s voice.  Filled with metaphors of death, health, and mental stability, Albatross evokes a state of mind haunted by obsession and emotional uneasiness.

An overall amazing video, but don’t take it with a grain of salt, or listen to after a breakup, you’ll be sorry!  A great addition to any collection for those who like those dark moments in relationships, especially those who have an affinity to love songs that are more than just being sappy but real.