Wild Beasts stream forthcoming release

Wild Beasts stream forthcoming release 'Boy King'.

Where 2014’s Present Tense album found Wild Beasts in reflective mood, absorbing a fascination with online culture and electronic music, Boy King has them, as Tom Fleming puts it, “back to being pissed off”. The quartet’s ever-present knack for sensual melody via Hayden Thorpe and Fleming’s dueting vocals, Ben Little’s sinuous guitar groove and Chris Talbot’s potent rhythm section carries in Boy King an aggressive, snarling and priapic beast that delves into the darker side of masculinity and Thorpe’s own psyche. As Hayden himself says, “After five records there had to be an element of ‘what the fuck?'”.

A newfound creative friction between Thorpe and Fleming proved key to unleashing the unique pop sensibility of Boy King – Fleming’s more visceral experimentation unlocking new dimensions in Thorpe’s own writing. After spending a whole year finessing this newfound impetus in East London, the band emerged with a collection of songs ready to take to Dallas and producer John Congleton (St. Vincent, Swans, The War on Drugs). Both Thorpe and Fleming credit that trip to Dallas with teasing out the raw power of Boy King.

The raw pop of Boy King’s songs are the perfect foil to Thorpe’s libidinous lyricism: “it became apparent that that guitar almost became the character within the songs, that phallic character, the all-conquering male,” he says. “I’m letting my inner Byron fully out, I thought I’d tucked him away, but he came screaming back like the Incredible Hulk.” Here lies Boy King’s greatest success. Between the slide of prowling aggression and interior darkness, there are glorious, gorgeous moments. It’s yet another incomparable Wild Beasts record; a visceral, sensual and jolting body of work that acts as a remarkable soundtrack to the early 21st century male malaise. Or as Thorpe puts it: “I think Boy King is an apocalyptic record. It’s about swimming in the abyss. When you think about sex, you’ve got to think about death, they’re one and the same.”

Wild Beasts stream forthcoming release 'Boy King'.

Boy King track list
Big Cat
Tough Guy
Alpha Female
Get My Bang
Celestial Creatures
2BU
He The Colossus
Ponytail
Eat Your Heart Out Adonis
Dreamliner

Wild Beasts Tour

Fri 05 Aug 2016 UK, London Rough Trade East
Wed 10 Aug 2016 USA, New York City Baby’s All Right [SOLD OUT]
Thu 18 Aug 2016 UK, Green Man Festival
Thu 25 Aug 2016 UK, London Banquet Records
Fri 26 Aug 2016 UK, UK Electric Fields
Sat 27 Aug 2016 Finland, Helsinki Modern Sky Festival
Fri 02 Sep 2016 Netherlands, Into The Great Wide Open
Sun 04 Sep 2016 Ireland Electric Picnic
Sat 24 Sep 2016 Germany, Reeperbahn Festival
Wed 28 Sep 2016 UK, Bristol Motion
Thu 29 Sep 2016 UK, Oxford O2 Academy Oxford
Fri 30 Sep 2016 UK, Margate By The Sea Festival
Sat 01 Oct 2016 UK, Sheffield The Foundry
Mon 03 Oct 2016 UK, Cambridge The Junction
Tue 04 Oct 2016 UK, London The Roundhouse
Fri 07 Oct 2016 UK, Newcastle Northumbria Uni
Sat 08 Oct 2016 UK, Glasgow QMU
Sun 09 Oct 2016 UK, Manchester Academy
Wed 12 Oct 2016 Belgium, Brussels Botanique Orangerie
Thu 13 Oct 2016 France, Paris La Gaîté Lyrique
Fri 14 Oct 2016 France, Tourcoing Le Grand Mix
Sat 15 Oct 2016 France, Strasbourg La Laiterie
Sun 16 Oct 2016 Germany, Cologne Luxor
Tue 18 Oct 2016 Denmark, Copenhagen Pumpehuset
Thu 20 Oct 2016 Germany, Berlin Kesselhaus
Fri 21 Oct 2016 Czech Republic, Prague Lucerna Music Bar
Sun 23 Oct 2016 Switzerland, Zurich, Rote Fabrik
Tue 25 Oct 2016 Italy, Milan, Magnolia
Wed 26 Oct 2016 France, Lyon Epicerie Moderne
Sat 29 Oct 2016 Spain, Bilbao BIME

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