Wild Beasts

England’s Wild Beasts feature shimmering guitar overtones, bizarre backup vocals, and quick, unexpected changes in tempo and dynamics—but that’s all background noise to the attention-grabbing vocal work of Hayden Thorpe. The band’s 2009 album, Two Dancers, traffics in a crisp, clear art-rock sound that goes down easy as the wordplay of its expressive frontman steals the spotlight. His countertenor, highly reminiscent of Antony Hegarty, defiantly travels where it damn well wants, often landing in a falsetto sure to either lure fans along for the ride or annoy listeners to the point of complete dismissal. Wild Beasts’ new album,Smother, injects some much-needed sexuality into the oft-stagnant genre of baroque pop, teasing hypnotic, circular soundscapes with detached come-ons like, “I take you in my mouth like a lion takes his game.”

Updated 07/06/2011