Wild Beasts Prep Smother

[mp3] Wild Beasts: "Albatross"

Wild Beasts are truly an eclectic group of musicians that create left field pop-leaning melodies with thick beds of electric and acoustic instrumentation. Whereas their last extremely well-received effort Two Dancers, captured pulsing rhythms and upbeat falsetto vocals, their new album Smother (May 10, Domino), promises a more moody and laid-back affair, probably more akin to James Blake's new wave dubstep than to Cold Cave's dark edgy dance-pop. While many (Vince) will probably lament this apparent change, we can't take issue until we've heard the record. Hopefully it's not a Blake-ian snoozer. Somehow, we doubt it will be though. Wild Beasts just announced their first round of US tour dates check those and their new vid after the jump.


WILD BEASTS TOUR DATES
Tuesday, July 12 – Philadelphia, PA @ World Café Live
Wednesday, July 13 – New York, NY @ Le Poisson Rouge
Thursday, July 14 – New York, NY @ Le Poisson Rouge
Saturday, July 16 – Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club

Stunning Fan-Made Videos: Grizzly Bear, Decemberists, Laura Veirs, Wild Beasts

Grizzly Bear -- "Two Weeks"

Two Weeks - Grizzly Bear from Gabe Askew on Vimeo.

You're lucky we're nice -- these are our Top 4, from Paste's recent list of the 10 best fan-made music videos of 2009. Stunning is an interesting word to begin with, but let's just say, the above video for Grizzly Bear's "Two Weeks" defines its modern definition. That said, I won't try to throw a bunch of misplaced adjectives at this video, because it is something to be enjoyed purely -- it is a time for you to "think your own thoughts" about it. My first reaction was -- Gabe Askew (maker of the video) must be a new hire in the Wes Anderson camp, and if not, needs to be - like now. Yes, it is a great song, but in a rare twist of fate, this video only makes it better.

For the rest of our favorites (Decemberists, Laura Veirs, Wild Beasts) from Paste's list, see after the jump.

The Decemberists -- "The Rake's Song"



Laura Veirs -- "Phantom Mountain"



Wild Beasts - "All the King's Men"

Tonight: Wild Beasts and Roman Candle

[mp3] Wild Beasts: "All The King's Men"

[mp3] Roman Candle: "They Say"

It's a busy concert week here in NY. We may be the most excited about tonight's show at the Mercury Lounge though which features the quickly rising stars Wild Beasts and Stark friends Roman Candle.

Headliners (8:30 p.m.), the Wild Beasts just received a positive review from Jon Pareles in today's New York Times to go along with their Best New Music tag from Pitchfork. The best part about this English group is that they pretty much deserve all of the accolades they've been receiving. Pareles drew out all the accurate references the 'Beasts draw from, most notably Dirty Projectors, New Order and, of course, the Talking Heads. The Wild Beasts' new record Two Dancers runs the gamut from dark, brooding, English melodies, to more sharp and pointed dance-rock. Two Dancers came out on Tuesday via Domino. Wild Beasts played Joe's Pub on Tuesday, Mercury tonight and Union Pool tomorrow.

Rounding out tonight’s oddly pared bill is openers Roman Candle (7:30 p.m), the smart Nashville-based pop-infused indie rockers who come equipped with more than a tinge of southern roots. Their extremly well-crafted songs are light and generally quite plesant. Exhibiting all the latter in fine form, Roman Candle's recent release, Oh Tall Tree in the Ear, is a crisp and entertaining record reflecting the true genuine qualities of this hardworking and simply put, extremely nice band -- they are great guys (and gal) that put out a good record and are bound to put on a great performance.

New Wild Beasts Video: "All The King's Men"

[mp3] Wild Beasts: "All the King's Men"

We've been enjoying the new Wild Beasts album, Two Dancers (9/8 Domino), immensely. It's certainly a grower, but its dark and subtle melodies have a certain gauzy softness to them that after several listens, becomes extremely repeatable. Wild Beasts fall somewhere between The Veils, Depeche Mode and The National, with the baritone vocals and somber English sentiment. Pitchfork gave Two Dancers best new music last week and today debuts the first video from the record "All The King's Men." The video is a bizarre medieval cruise through the woods that is, honestly, pretty perfect for the haunting nature of the song. Enjoy.