Wild Beasts - Limbo Panto

yar it is pretty awes

Just got it yesterday. Am liking the first few songs, then it all seems to fizzle out a bit. I want to like it though, am hoping all will be revealed over time.

second side is a grower.

second side better than the first

from the title track (two dancers i and ii) until the end

shit this gets exponentially better with every listen, 'this is our lot' being the new discovery

also the reason it only got to no. 68 in the chance? Begins with S, ends with y, and has 'potif' in the middle.

Charts, even. o_O

they don't sound similar to much else out there, besides certain lapses into early U2 guitar jangle. i think "this is our lot" mostly does this.

i loved the hell out of the first one, keep forgetting to pick this up!

Cutty, I know what you mean about U2, it's been reminding me of that 80s stadium rock thing too. Sounds a bit like Interpol too in parts. These are the bits I'm shying away from at the moment tbh.

despite being a jammy bastard and getting a promo of this a while back, had to go buy it on vinyl too. i cant quite put my finger on why i like it so much and reason tells me i should be a bit bored of it by now. but i'm not. pitchfork better give it mad props.

who cares what pitchfork says

well i hope they give it a good review for the bands benefit and because a lot more people would love it if it got some nice U.S. based press.

hurrah. 8.4 and a best new music. works for me.

everything u wanted bro

Kinda irks me that the PF review says they're from Leeds.

Leeds is 100 miles from Kendal (where they're actually from).

We Still Got The Taste Dancin' On Our Tongues was absolutely *phenomenal* live, and the rest wasn't far behind (This Is Our Lot being maybe the pick)

going to see them tonight.

...and this was in a big tent, with festival production values. my friend said that this was 'really good, and maybe about half as good as when i saw them at a club' so you're in for a treat! although they didn't play 'through the iron gate' or 'the old dog'. ah well. 'hooting & howling' grows on me every time i hear it btw

also i was not expecting the two singers to exchange lead/backing parts, electric/bass guitar and keys with such unpredictable dexterity

Going to see them next month. I only recently bought a ticket after they'd been on sale for a few weeks and I still got given ticket number 001. No pushing at the front please.

"Hooting & Howling" still irritates me.

Saw this video yesterday. Singer's voice is rather yelp-y.

h&h is amaaaaaaaaazing.

they are so good at arranging!

i prefer limbo panto (the new one's a bit too smooth) altho h&h and a few others are great.

ok, this was fucking brilliant. and i totally did not expect to be blown away by the non-singing guitar player. dude is THE EDGE for real. he was too loud in the mix but it didn't matter, he holds everything together so nicely.

the whole interplay between the band is really interesting. all types of finger picking syncopation, and the drummer just really kills it.

i expected them to be better dressed, though? they aren't as fancy as they initially come off as.

Yeah, they do favour the farmhand-at-a-job-interview look don't they?

the show solidified my belief that this band is something special. not just some "look at how weird we are" affair.

was disappointed they didn't play two dancers i-ii though

yay it hit emusic!

yay it hit emusic!

It did? Did it un-hit again?

Each time I listen to Two Dancers, I'm more impressed. I think Cutty's on to something: there is something special here, and whatever they're doing isn't just trying to be different for the sake of it but stems from a really fucking smart songwriting set-up. They're playing Glasgow next Tuesday, too. Hmm.

go see them!

It's sorted: I'm reviewing them :)

Paper Planes supporting, too ... plus Blue Roses, about whom I know fuck all.

it's funny all my favorite albums this year have flown under the ILX radar. wild beasts, why?, the big pink, the maccabees...

Holy shit.

Trying to write a review now. Not sure I can adequately express my dropped-jaw astonishment, though. Thanks, Cutty: I probably wouldn't have gone if it hadn't been for you, and that would have meant missing certainly the best gig I've seen this year, and one of the best I can remember ... er, ever, really.

Fuck me, what a band.

!

awesome.

It's the drumming live that's revelatory ... I actually don't think Two Dancers captures that at all. Fucking incredible: so heavy, so delicate. At one point I thought there must be an extra percussionist I couldn't see.

And I'm a sucker for heavy-duty instrument-swapping, too.

At one point I thought there must be an extra percussionist I couldn't see.

yeah, his parts are pretty complex for being so minimal and repetitive

I'm intrigued. Despite the lead singer's voice (which kind of grates on me), I'm going to download it.

he isn't the lead singer btw--i feel like all their press releases give that wrong impression. nor is the other singer the "bass player"

it's funny with this band, so many things become more apparent when you see them live

They not going to play South Florida, I'd guess (not a popular rock venue).

it's funny with this band, so many things become more apparent when you see them live

― cutty, Wednesday, 30 September 2009 13:45 (4 minutes ago) Bookmark

^^^

The Associates/Billy Mackenzie mailing list has been going nuts over these folks.

Yes, absolutely. I mean, Two Dancers has grown on me massively but live they're something else entirely ... I listened to TD again this morning while I was writing my review and there were a couple of points where I was actually a bit disappointed: "Woah, hang on, this was so much better last night." Put it this way: while I think it's a fine album, I wouldn't be able to use it to support all my hyperbole about how good they are live.

xpost Yeh, I can see why. I mentioned the Associates in my review -- Scottish paper, natch -- but (like The XX) you could cite any number of influences or similarities and still not nail it. To me -- and I don't think many people will agree, but fuck it -- there's a lot of (mid-eighties) Wire in there, for instance.

they also remind me of (and sit right next to on my iPod) the US band wilderness. it's the glacial guitars and the drumming.

they also remind me of (and sit right next to on my iPod) the US band wilderness.

That's a comparison I can get excited about! (I like Wilderness -- a lot).

I played Two Dancers yesterday for the first time in a few years, it’s still completely fantastic.

Why inevitable? Boy King never stuck with me and seemed a step in the wrong direction but it wasn't something they couldn't have recovered from. Sad

A shame, those first two records are forever.

the first four are forever. my favorite group of the period I think. shame.

I at least liked all their albums tbh. I caught them on the Smother tour and they were very good.

I'm with you, Gospodin. At this point I'll wait for the inevitable reformation and return to form.

That's a shame that they've gone out on such a weak album. I think they got worse with each release, but those first two are absolutely perfect. Smother is great too, but isn't quite in the same league as Limbo Panto and Two Dancers. The last two albums were totally forgettable. I was hoping they'd be able to regain my interest somehow.

Their b-sides were so good, hope they do a comp

I saw them on the 'Boy King' tour and thought the songs from that album made quite a bit more sense live - like they were more direct and streamlined and likely to come across better on the festival circuit. Was a very good gig, pretty well balanced set.

Two Dancers and Smother are absolute, stone cold classics. Present Tense is very good. Limbo Panto is pretty good. Boy King didn't know where to go; it also broke the narrative arc - onanistic adolescents, whooping lads on the town, falling in love/ infatuation, domestic bliss. Midlife crisis? I'm sad. Great band, fabulous live. And yes, some cracking b sides. Thankless Thing!

They're releasing one last EP of Boy King outtakes, which guess makes this their last newly released song

https://open.spotify.com/track/6b3HeQ00jtHHG9hBU92atJ

New interview with Hayden doesn't really shed any light on the reason behind the split

Final shows tonight, tomorrow and Saturday; Dublin, Manchester, and London.

Q posted their final interview earlier; quite sweet this. Kinda poignant too obviously

https://www.qthemusic.com/articles/wild-beasts-this-is-the-end-my-friends

One for the Rock Stars Who Went Back To Work thread; one's a roofer now, one is training in accountancy.

We're all quiffed and cropped,
This is our lot,
We hold each other up heavy with hops.

This Is Our Lot is so fucking good.

Hayden's new thing

https://divinerdiviner.com/

New song

https://youtu.be/4uPHw6zFpto

Try that again ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4uPHw6zFpto

I like this a lot. It sounds exactly like you'd expect a WBs solo offshoot to sound like, but in a good way.

Hey, that's really good! Looking forward to this after the final album, which is decidedly not my cup of tea.

So the Hayden Thorpe solo album is out. It's pretty mellow, lots of voice + piano + small touches. I must admit I miss the voice of Tom Fleming as the counterpoint to Hayden's falsetto. I've only listened to it once and it feels like a grower, we'll see.

I’ve listened to it once and really liked it. Can see it as a grower and also as not being a record for all moods. It’s not Wild Beasts but it doesn’t feel like a radical departure either.

Tom Fleming's current project is One True Pairing: https://onetruepairing.bandcamp.com/ - first album is fun if a bit derivative, latest EP is voice and guitar.

Hayden Thorpe has a new album out as well: https://haydenthorpe.bandcamp.com/album/moondust-for-my-diamond