Wilton’s Music Hall was in many ways the perfect location for Wild Beasts to play. Not the most obvious choice of venue, the hall’s bar seems more like a gentleman’s club; books on the shelves, various pianos, and old armchairs adorned the homely rooms. It is an altogether classy establishment that suits Wild Beasts’ outward appearance. The venue itself is quite theatrical; wooden floors, a high ceiling, minimal lighting and a bare rock wall at the back of the stage, all of which matches Wild Beasts’ music’s theatrical pomp to a tee.
This surrounding suited the openers Summer Camp less, but they still put on a good show. The boy-girl duo’s pop music is a simple drum machine, keyboard and guitar deal, but Elizabeth Sankey’s vocals can switch from sweet to powerful at the drop of a hat, giving Summer Camp a secret weapon in their minimal arsenal. Sankey also proved that she’s not afraid to make the audience pay attention, as three songs in she got down from the stage and wandered through the crowd, singing directly into the faces of passive onlookers, certainly garnering some well-earned respect and notice. The duo’s songs were mostly upbeat, playful and fairly innocent, which matched nicely with the slideshow of home photos that they had projected, but it was the flirtatious closer “I Want You” which stuck out, not just because of its sexual overtones, but Sankey’s vocals hit their peak sultriness in the song’s chorus, making it a powerful end, and a good segue into Wild Beasts, who bring the sexiness in their own music.
This gig is early in a short tour of intimate shows that they are doing to celebrate the release of their third album, and this was “day three of Smother” as Hayden Thorpe put it. Justly, the set consisted heavily of material from the new album, with nine of the album’s ten songs being played. Seeing a band play new material usually goes one of two ways; they either struggle with it because they’re still figuring it out, or they play it better than ever because the passion for playing these songs is still strong in the band. For Wild Beasts it was undoubtedly the latter. The guys came out peacefully to the extended opening chord of “Plaything,” taking up their positions, before Chris Talbot’s amplified drums cracked the tension and the Beasts were in business.
The opening triplet of new songs saw both singers delivering their vocals with closed eyes and impassioned faces. When their time came to step back Thorpe would groove gracefully on the spot, shifting his weight widely from foot to foot, moving with the music, and Tom Fleming slowly moving his head with the swelling sounds. Despite their professional demeanour while playing, the guys were unafraid to chat happily between songs, with Thorpe joking that they didn’t give a fuck if they played so loud that paint chips started to fall from the centuries-old walls, and Fleming announcing that “shit’s about to get a bit 2008” before launching into “The Devil’s Crayon” from their debut (unfortunately the only Limbo, Panto song in the set).
Throughout the night it was impressive to witness how the band brought the lofty sounds of their new album to life on stage using samplers, keyboards, guitars and of course Talbot’s exceptional drum work. They have had to draft in an additional keyboardist (and occasional backing vocalist) named Katy, but that’s unsurprising given the depth of sound their music can reach. It’s also impressive how well suited to the live setting their music is, staying personable and catchy while also artistically and technically demanding. Only during the extended transitional section of night closing “End Come Too Soon” did they start to approach conceitedness, but the conclusion of the song was magnificent enough to make it forgivable. The crowd watched contentedly and raptly through all of the new material, but really went wild for the older songs, particularly the main set closing “Hooting and Howling” and an uproarious rendition of “All the King’s Men” that saw Fleming getting utterly swept up in his passionately-delivered chorus.
Last time I saw Wild Beasts they were riding the crest of a wave of new fans after the unexpected huge success of Two Dancers, and they seemed awed by the reception they were receiving. This time they seemed just as delighted to receive the plaudits, but were more confident in their acceptance of it, showing the growth they’ve undergone very quickly, which has been channelled into their music both live and recorded. Although on this night they may have been playing to only 400 people, their sound is now big enough to capture the attention of thousands at once, and they’ll get the chance to prove it as they play bigger venues and headline festivals later this year.
Wild Beasts set list:
Plaything
Loop the Loop
Deeper
We Still Got The Taste Dancing On Our Tongues
The Devil’s Crayon
Invisible
Albatross
This Is Our Lot
Bed Of Nails
Reach A Bit Further
Hooting & Howling
Lion’s Share
All The King’s Men
End Come Too Soon
