Wild Beasts smother the Lexington

Indie rock dwellers Wild Beasts held an exclusive competition in which lucky fans would be drawn from a hat to get a chance to see the band perform their last album Smother in its entirety. With Smother being their third studio album, the band’s fan base has grown exponentially over the last few years, so the clamour for tickets was immeasurable.

The small stage was packed full of equipment and was a reminder to the hundred-strong audience they were about to witness what is now a stadium band playing an intimate gig on a stage accustomed to the barely known and unsigned. As the four men, originally from Kendal in Cumbria, emerged with their additional live members, you wondered how the platform would facilitate their presence. What it did was draw everybody closer together, with the band and the crowd exuding a warmth to mirror their critically acclaimed album.

The set began with an atmospheric crescendo of sound before breaking into the opener Lion’s Share. From the beginning the vocals, which are a key element of the band’s identity, haunted the senses like a brooding ghost; Hayden Thorpe’s vocal is as striking as it is unnerving. The hairs on the back of everyone’s necks were already on end before Tom Fleming introduced the refrain, “Boy, what you running from?” Once both frontmen had introduced their vocal talents to the crowd, you sensed you were now going to witness the full artistry of the music. True to the album, the back end of the first track swung straight into Bed of Nails and the audience were then in the mood to move their feet. From then on guitarist Ben Little and drummer Ben Talbot employed their own vocals to good effect.

The acoustics were great and the atmosphere was deafening. The band ended the set with the album finisher End Come Too Soon only to reappear after an encore to play some of the more popular songs from previous albums Limbo, Panto and Two Dancers. Overall a fantastic set from the band, which will only heighten anticipation for their eagerly awaited fourth album.

Samuel Mensah

For further information and future events visit Wild Beasts’ website here.

Watch the video for Bed of Nails here: