Having garnered impressive levels of critical acclaim with their last album 'Two Dancers', yet still maintaining a relatively elite fan base, Wild Beasts appear to have toned down their penchant for peculiarity on their third studio outing. Yet, though their approach on 'Smother' is gentler and more restrained, the Kendal four-piece are as curiously distinctive as ever, crafting wonderful, soothing atmospheres with supple, offbeat rhythms, unobtrusive instrumentation and idiosyncratic vocals.
Much is made of Hayden Thorpe's glimmering falsetto, and while his unique and often challenging tones have matured greatly since 'Two Dancers', sounding smoother and more controlled here than ever before, Tom Fleming's deep, sultry timbre is not only equally rousing, but provides a wonderful contrast to his bandmate's feminine warble. The two are perfectly matched on the swirling chorus of single 'Albatross', soft versus shrill, underscored by resonant piano and ambient synths. There is little that can top 'Loop The Loop', however, with its two simple guitar lines playing off each other as the song leads to its almost unspeakably beautiful climax, Thorpe's voice circling above mounting strings.
A touch more lively is another standout track, 'Reach A Bit Further', bobbing lightly with its plucked guitar and flickering percussion as Thorpe sings, "Tear jerker, shadow lurker, wonder worker, reach a bit further". Indeed, Wild Beasts lyrics are as perceptive as they are poetic. Still teeming with striking and occasionally explicit sensuality, they are at their most sexually charged as 'Plaything' opens with the line "New squeeze, take off your chemise, and I'll do as I please".
An album that reveals new delights with each listen, there's no denying 'Smother' is an absolute stunner from beginning to end.
