Albums
< Wild Beasts
Limbo, Panto
words by Reef Younis
The Lake District has a proud history of inspiring fine poetry and literature: from the 19th Century writings of Wordsworth to the lauded Lake Poets, it’s an area that instils and fosters the mind’s meandering qualities. However, a little more recently, it’s taken to stimulating and galvanising the ears. The expansive absurdism of British Sea Power sprung forth and headed south, and, it seems, Wild Beasts are set to follow a similar path.
Enwombed in Kendal before decamping to Leeds, their debut, ‘Limbo, Panto’, captures the panorama of the district with sweeping aspiration, blending lyrical peculiarities with splendorous pop and folk sensibilities that are consistently gorgeous throughout.
Much will be – and should be – made of Hayden Thorpe’s enthralling falsetto; trembling and operatic in its delivery, with elaborate choirboy pronunciation, it’s the focal point of the Wild Beasts make up, and puts them a half mask and a doom-laden organ away from grand theatrics. Think Muse’s Matthew Bellamy stripped of his mirrored guitar, pyrotechnics and crescendo of production; it’s a show stopper/starter in its own right that effortlessly transcends its surroundings. Wonderfully, for all its purity, it’s a vocal that becomes increasingly uninhibited as the album progresses. With an elegance and poise that belies their virgin years – the average age of the band is 21 – ‘Limbo…’ displays impressive variety and ambition for a debut. Taking an avant-garde approach to form and genre, similar to that of Celebration. Single, ‘The Devil’s Crayon’ jangles along, merrily bearing hallmarks of Patrick Wolf’s gypsy folk while the lavishly wide-eyed, mildly insane ‘Brave Bulging Buoyant Clairvoyants’ allows Thorpe to wantonly, impressively scale the octaves.
Throwing himself into album closer ‘Cheerio Chaps, Cheerio Goodbye’ his powerful warble vocal overlays a quivering chorus that suitably brings an enchanting debut to an elaborate close.
9/10 in stores June 16
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