Wild Beasts @ Koko - 4 March 2010

If there’s one word that sums up tonight, it’s disorganised. And it’s not just the technical faults and meaningful glances off stage that plague Wild Beasts on what should be their crowning moment: it’s the constant lulls between songs to tune instruments; the missing of impactful intros while members toy with sounds; the uncertainty of which of the group’s two front men is leading proceedings.

The latter doesn't necessarily have to be a bad thing. I don’t have a problem with sharing the limelight. In fact, the best moments of tonight’s show are when Hayden Thorpe and Tom Fleming jostle for position, pitting falsetto against baritone in a battle of mis-matched machismo (the crescendo of His Grinning Skull, with both vocalists wailing their respective grave-raiding directions, would certainly register as many an audience member’s highlight).

What hurts is to have to see either of these brutes step back to allow the other his moment. Here are two huge personalities, singing songs of ardent masculinity, and to see one defeated is to see a gladiator befallen. Tonight, the duelling that comes across so effectively on Two Dancers is lost.

And so it happens that the tracks from the superior studio album are overshadowed by those of its predecessor. Transferred out of the studio and onto the stage, Two Dancers lacks the lustre of Limbo, Panto. Although The Fun Powder Plot makes a superb opener, with an intricate bass line building alongside equally compelling drums, and All The King’s Men is a huge show of bravado, Two Dancers struggles to conjure up the flair of His Grinning Skull and Brave Bulging Buoyant Clairvoyant.

Fleming looks humbled as he introduces the latter track - their first single - reporting that this is the band's biggest show to date. If they didn't know that, I feel it might also have been their best, because unfortunately the occassion and their bid to make it perfect seems to have overwhelmed Wild Beasts.

Top ten 2009 - Wild Beasts, Two Dancers

There’s a danger with a band like Wild Beasts that they could be overwhelmed by the novelty factor; that vocals like Hayden Thorpe’s could tip them the wrong side of burlesque. With their previous album, Limbo, Panto, there was a risk the Leeds four-piece was entering an inescapable world of farce, doomed to forever accompany The Tiger Lillies on their indefinite world tours (not that that would be a bad thing for anyone).

But with Two Dancers Wild Beasts have successfully fused melodic pop and indie flair. The vocals feel more restrained this time around, but still give the band an edge – something original to differentiate them from the swarming NME brigade. This is a serious rock album, but deliciously laced with a touch of the absurd.

What to listen out for.
The Fun Powder Plot, All the King’s Men, This is our Lot

When to listen to it.
During morning ablutions – it wakes you, lifts you and gives you a great chance to wail in the shower

Will we hear them again?
Wild Beasts have had time to develop. They’ve been nursed through the difficult first years of their career by the country’s finest music pundits and have come out as a mature, accomplished band. They’ve got a sound that is instantly recognisable and easily lovable. There’ll be many more like Two Dancers.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sxh5zMbNAo