Smother is the latest release from the dramatic electronic indie pop group Wild Beasts. This band has long been a critic favorite for their brooding, smart and emotional lyrics and their deep and varied sound. They definitely have a strong ability to breathe life into a song and make you really feel it, and they are able to create some very interesting and fascinating sounds and songs to go around that. On the new album the band continues to push this same ethos even further and delivers a heart-wrenching and dramatic album that really lies waiting for you with some great subtlety, but upon repeat listens it really opens up to you.
The album kicks off with a very serious tone with the dramatic and sweeping “Lion’s Share” before really hitting its stride with the second track, “Bed of Nails”. This song is the perfect example of the ability to craft a seemingly simple song with many intricate layers so that the real emotional impact of the song just grows both through the course of the song as well as on repeat listens. This is true for many of the songs on the album, including songs like “Deeper” and “Invisible”, both incredibly simple and moving songs. The band has such a unique ability to create such heft and weight behind such simple and moving song structures. It may be too dramatic for some to really get behind, but I think even though the album is very heavy, it really allows the listener to experience in their own way. It is not heavy-handed at all, and really invites the listener in to the dramatic weight of the album.
On this album I think the band has hit such a great balance of songs that hide the ball a little bit, but that also really pay off in their musical and emotional impact. The band manages to really craft some incredibly strong songs that all work together extremely well and all seem to really fall in with the theme and title of the album, although some more than others. While the songs here may not immediately jump up and grab your ear as quickly as many other albums out there, once you spend time really soaking in the many varied directions this album goes, it really pays off. It is ultimately the unassuming and subtle way that this album is presented that makes this such a success. This is a very strong album artistically and musically from Wild Beasts and definitely is one worth checking out and one that is sure to show up on many year end lists come December.
“Bed of Nails” by Wild Beasts from Smother
“Albatross” by Wild Beasts from Smother
