Wild Beasts iTunes Festival @ The Roundhouse, London 12/7/10
4/5
By: Liane Escorza
Goodness me! Wild Beasts are definitely something else. If presenting one of the most boldly original records of 2009 – Two Dancers – was not enough, they are clearly a number one act when it comes to cutting it live also.
Acting as support to The xx at tonight’s instalment of the iTunes Festival ought to have taken some of the pressure of a huge Roundhouse appearance off their shoulders, yet it took about three or four songs in to the set for the Lake District quartet to come across as feeling completely confident and at ease. Nevertheless, their fascinating carnival-esque manner of performance clashed brilliantly with a seriousness infused by strikingly eerie swathes of sound throughout.
The falsetto and countertenor vocals of both singers most vividly represent this dichotomy, a signature that only works for a few, and works for them brilliantly - sometimes fantastical, sometimes simple, sometimes grand and sometimes baroque. Despite their grace, their songs are made for the dance floor, albeit for one that is receding into the night, the kind that leaves you with a warm hazy feeling and a numb smile on your face.
Songs like the metallic opera mockery ‘Hooting and Howling’, the expansive pop anthem that is ‘We Still Got the Taste Dancing on our Tongues’ or the swaying and cavalierly ‘All The King’s Men’ contrast tellingly with the light guitars and splattering drum stylings of ‘The Devil’s Crayon’ from first LP Limbo, Panto – here is a band not concerned with standing still. But Wild Beasts’ chirpiness and engaging aura reside evenly within, and there is absolutely nothing anyone can find that will define this beautifully bizarre act as anything other than wholly compelling.
Artists in this article: Wild Beasts
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