Wild Beasts
“Sweet Spot”
Present Tense (out 2.25 on Domino)
In the six years since their original, striking debut, it’s been fascinating to watch the British quartet develop their sound. 2008’s Limbo, Panto was an explosive, post-punk/art-rock racket (I mean that in the most positive way), driven by the shrieking, somewhat jarring falsetto of Hayden Thorpe. Since then, the group has evolved into a refined, engulfing outfit, whose tracks gently sweep you away instead of bowling into you.
To my ears, Presence Tense, their fourth LP, is their finest work yet, and second single “Sweet Spot” is a great example of what makes it so special. It builds slowly through an undulating bass-riff and palm-muted guitars before revealing its undeniable, earworm of a synth line. Very few bands can grow and change without losing what made them great in the first place. Wild Beasts are one of those bands.
