Wild Beasts Smother (Domino)
3/5
By: Stephen Maughan
Wild Beasts have been winning fans with their melodramatic and atmospheric music for a few years now, and Smother, their third album, is a slightly more hushed affair that sees guitars replaced with synths. The songs take us on a slow and hazy boat ride that embraces dreamlike imagery, and searches for meaning in love and beauty. Behind it all is the worry that it's all meaningless, which in my mind marks this out to be not just quieter but slightly darker than previous Wild Beasts albums (“the secrets that I should have shared, they drown me”).
Smother will do well among the broadsheet newspapers and those of you “serious” about music, while others will be lost wondering what happened to the chorus. Even though Two Dancers proved they could knock out a killer hook, there's not one particularly catchy song here, no 'We Still Got The Taste Dancing On Our Tongues' even. Instead, it's mood music, and it's beautifully and eloquently done, showing a band who may be depressed but sure know how to put together a sophisticated piece of art.
And that art, in my mind, lies the problem with Smother. Have you ever stood in a art gallery surrounded by people whispering how beautiful and amazing a picture is but all you see is a nice enough field with sunflowers? I don't care about the 5 star reviews, the Mercury Prize nominations, or the in-depth analysis of the oh so smart lyrics (“I want my lips to blister when we kiss” might sound sweet on paper, but with this band I don't know if it will scare or delight you). To use an analogy Wild Beasts might appreciate, as a whole, I'm just not feeling it.
Not feeling it that is despite the brilliance of the first song, 'Lion's Share' which sets the feel and tone of Smother up perfectly. And indeed, despite its uncompromising nature, the clever lyrics and the always hypnotising voices of Hayden Thorpe and Tom Fleming. It all sounds a bit too perfect for me, the elegance of the music after a while gets slightly, dare I whisper it, dull. Sure, it's a beautiful album, but despite what you may read, I can’t see it changing anything.
Wild Beasts - Bed Of Nails by DominoRecordCo
Artists in this article: Wild Beasts
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