Wild Beasts have officially hit their stride with their newest effort Boy King. All of the UK based band’s music made prior to Boy King showed great potential through a handful of strong singles, but ultimately the previous four full length albums aren’t nearly as cohesive or widely accessible as Boy King. Wild Beasts have graduated into a matured sound without compromising their distinctive flavor by ramping up the tempo with more kick drums. They’ve pulled out all the stops to churn out some seriously infectious hooks.
The album as a whole is a blissfully sexy dive into experimental pop starting off with the endearing “Big Cat”. “Tough Guy” is perhaps the most overtly sexy track of the bunch, loaded with an aggressive guitar solo following a well timed groan, it begs to inspire some grinding on the dancefloor. A couple of these tracks would make great club edits if placed in the right hands to remix them, particularly the synth heavy “He The Colossus.” But the standout track of the album is “Celestial Creatures.” Marking the midway point of the album, it’s one of the slower cuts, but nevertheless a euphoric sound bath that builds onto itself second after second before abruptly fizzling into near nothingness for the last minute. The composition is astoundingly gorgeous and makes a bold statement at track five on the album.
Enjoy Boy King straight through or on shuffle. Take Boy King along with you to the gym or on your next road trip before the summer ends. Boy King is a raw, honest, and a damn good forward thinking pop album.
Boy King is out Friday August 5 on Domino Records.
Tracklisting
01. Big Cat
02. Tough Guy
03. Alpha Female
04. Get My Bang
05. Celestial Creatures
06. 2BU
07. He The Colossus
08. Ponytail
09. Eat Your Heart Out Adonis
10. Dreamliner