Wild Beasts LIVE

Contrary to what their moniker would have you believe, Wild Beasts are not the type of band to get crowds whipped up into a frenzy. Instead of supplying aggressive, unhinged howl-alongs, the Beasts have a very distinct sound which has matured over the course of three albums, blossoming into a sensual, ethereal brand of “art-rock”. It might not be everybody’s cup of tea, but I daresay that those who make their way into the Copper Rooms on the evening of Sunday 11th March leave the venue with the band’s music clutched that much closer to their hearts.

Opening band Alt-J get the night started competently enough: their quirky, minimalist pop is full of gorgeous vocal harmonies and understated guitar interplay, all grounded by the diverse beats of their excellent drummer. Pleasant and surprising, their set is received warmly by the ever-growing audience, and by the time they leave the stage, there is a quiet, electric excitement in the air.
The dissonant opening washes of ‘Burning’ rattle from the speakers as the Beasts take to the stage. Once the eager applause dies down, things kick off without fanfare with the woozy shimmer of ‘Bed Of Nails’. In a live capacity, the music remains as passionate and colourful as ever, yet the band perform onstage with a no-frills, hypnotic quality, with the emphasis firmly on the atmosphere of these songs, rather than the spectacle of the show. When the foursome (plus touring member Katie Harkin) really lock into a groove, the music truly takes flight, sending shivers through the suitably cavernous, shadowy Copper Rooms.

Lead singer Hayden Thorpe is in fine voice this evening, as is co-frontman Tom Fleming, who attacks the microphone during the chorus of the spectacular ‘All The King’s Men’ with a barrage of squeals and grunts. The sensual undertones of practically every song on display tonight get the collective hips of the audience moving, turning the crowd into a weaving, rippling unit. Ben Little compliments the entwining tones of the two singers with his glassy guitar lines, while drummer Chris Talbot anchors the whole show, despite him being virtually out of sight in the shadows at the back of the stage, with his unique rhythms echoing through the venue with clarity and force.

The fifteen-song set pulls most heavily from the group’s two most recent albums, “Two Dancers” and “Smother”, with debut “Limbo, Panto” only rearing its head once, in the form of the more visceral, punchy ‘Devil’s Crayon’. Throughout the evening, songs are interspersed with short-but-sweet comments from Fleming and Thorpe, whose polite announcements never threaten to derail the performance. Thorpe apologises sheepishly that they haven’t performed the incoming ‘Hooting And Howling’ for a while, and his self-consciousness seems to only further encourage a mass clap-along in the song’s opening minutes: arguably the liveliest moments of the night.

Marking highlights is difficult indeed when considering that the strength of the set only wavers briefly, losing its momentum slightly with ‘Deeper’, which feels like something of an interlude, albeit a pleasant one. The band are on firmer footing with ‘We Still Got The Taste Dancin’ On Our Tongues’, its choppy guitar crescendo causing this reviewer to break out in goosebumps. And there are two golden moments in the hazy ‘Loop The Loop’ and the aching ‘Reach A Bit Further’, the latter of which receives one of the night’s biggest cheers.

Leading the encore, ‘Lion’s Share’ arguably makes the best transition from recording to live performance. Talbot is joined on the kit by Harkin, propelling the latter half of the song into a menacing death-march, as Thorpe sways, trancelike around the stage. “You’ve been wonderful company,” Thorpe announces with a warm smile, before the band conclude the evening with the euphoric slow-build of ‘End Come Too Soon’, whose dreamlike, synth-washed interim provides a magical moment of hushed awe in the crowd.

When the Beasts depart the stage for the last time, a warm afterglow remains in the Copper Rooms as the audience begin to file out. The prevailing mood seems to be one of quiet joy. Wild Beasts may not be as in-your-face as some of the other bands around today, but once they do have your attention, their intent rings loud and clear. And I definitely think that all those in attendance will have the taste dancin’ on their tongues for quite a while yet.