- Wild Beasts
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For the art movement, see Fauvism.For the Chinese novel, see Wild Beast (Chinese novel).
Wild Beasts 
Wild BeastsBackground information Origin Kendal, England Genres Indie rock[1]
Dream pop
Art rock
Post-punk revival[2][3] (early)Years active 2002 — present Labels Domino Records Website Wild Beasts.co.uk Members Hayden Thorpe (vocals, guitar, bass, keys)
Ben Little (guitar, keys)
Tom Fleming (bass, vocals, guitar, keys)
Chris Talbot (drums, vocals)Wild Beasts are an indie rock band from Kendal in Cumbria. They released their first single, "Brave Bulging Buoyant Clairvoyants", on Bad Sneakers Records in November 2006, and subsequently signed to Domino Records. They have released three acclaimed albums, Limbo, Panto in 2008, Two Dancers in 2009, and Smother in 2011. Two Dancers was nominated for the Mercury Prize.
Contents
History
In 2002, Queen Katherine School students Hayden Thorpe and Ben Little formed the duo Fauve, the French term for "wild beast", and began writing songs. In January 2004, drummer Chris Talbot, otherwise known as Bert, joined and the band's name became Wild Beasts.[4] The trio recorded their eponymous demo EP in June 2004. In September 2005, the band relocated to Leeds and Tom Fleming joined as full time bassist. They played their first Leeds gig at Trash (formerly The Mixing Tin). The new quartet recorded two further demo EPs, Esprit De Corps and All Men.
Wild Beasts signed to Bad Sneakers Records in August 2006. They recorded a live session of three tracks in November 2006 for Marc Riley's Brain Surgery on BBC Radio 6 Music.[5] Bad Sneakers released "Brave Bulging Buoyant Clairvoyants" on 20 November.[6] With Hayden's "enormous falsetto voice, which soars over chiming guitars",[6] the single was placed at number 17 in the UK indie chart.
In February 2007, Wild Beasts signed to Domino Records.[7] A second single was released on Bad Sneakers Records in April 2007, "Through Dark Night".[8] In May 2007, music magazine NME listed Wild Beasts as one of ten bands "tipped for the top".[9] Wild Beasts' debut album Limbo, Panto, described as "shocking, funny, and above all irrevocable",[10] was released on 16 June 2008, with "The Devil's Crayon" single following on 30 June.
The band's second album Two Dancers was released in August 2009 and was widely acclaimed; it featured in many end of year best albums lists for 2009.[11][12][13] It was nominated for the 2010 Mercury Prize. Wild Beasts' third studio album, entitled Smother, was released in May 2011.[14] The band subsequently announced the addition of touring band member Katie Harkin from Sky Larkin.[15]
Discography
Albums
- Limbo, Panto (Domino Records, 2008)
- Two Dancers (Domino Records, 2009)
- Smother (Domino Records, 2011) UK #17[16]
EPs
- Wild Beasts (2004)
- Esprit De Corps (2005)
- All Men (2005)
Singles
- "Brave Bulging Buoyant Clairvoyants"/"The Old Dog" (Bad Sneakers Records, 2006)
- "Through Dark Night"/"Please Sir" (Bad Sneakers Records, 2007)
- "Assembly"/"Sylvia, A Melodrama" (Domino Records, 2007)
- "The Devil's Crayon"/"Treacle Tin" (Domino Records, 2008)
- "Brave Bulging Buoyant Clairvoyants"/"Mummy's Boy" (Domino Records, 2008)
- "Hooting & Howling"/"Through the Iron Gate" (Domino Records, 2009)
- "All The King's Men" (Domino Records, 2009)
- "We Still Got The Taste Dancin' On Our Tongues" (Domino Records, 2010)
- "Albatross"/"Smother" (Domino Records, 2011)
- "Bed of Nails"/"Catherine Wheel" (Domino Records, 2011)
- "Reach a Bit Further"/"Thankless Thing" (Domino Records, 2011)
Remixes
References
- ^ Bevan, David. "Wild Beasts - Smother". Pitchfork. http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/15436-smother/. Retrieved 14 June 2011.
- ^ Fulton, Katherine. "Wild Beasts - Biography". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/artist/wild-beasts-p857148/biography. Retrieved June 12, 2011.
- ^ Pearis, Bill (August 12, 2009). "Wild Beasts - new album, MP3, 2009 tour dates, 3 NYC shows". Brooklynvegan.com. http://www.brooklynvegan.com/archives/2009/08/wild_beasts_-_n.html. Retrieved June 12, 2011.
- ^ Hargreaves, Ellie. 2006-11-17 Westmorland Gazette "Wild about the Beasts."
- ^ BBC Tracklisting (Brain Surgery) 2006-12-22
- ^ a b Simpson, Dave. 2006-12-15 The Guardian "First Sight: Wild Beasts."
- ^ Domino Records 2007-02-22 Domino News Obtained 2007-03-03.
- ^ Knight, Beverely. 2007-04-21 Music Week "The playlist." Page 3.
- ^ Hargreaves, Ellie. 2007-05-23 ThisisTheLakeDistrict.co.uk. "NME Hails Kendal Band "Must See"" Section: leisure
- ^ Drowned in Sound New album: goose-pimpled gods Wild Beasts take debut bow Obtained 2008-05-04
- ^ http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/bjhj
- ^ http://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/109159-wild-beasts-two-dancers/
- ^ http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/music/cd_reviews/article6731988.ece
- ^ Meatto, Keith. 2011-05-17 Wild at Heart – A Review of Smother Obtained 2011-05-17.
- ^ Marc Riley 2011-05-04 BBC 6 Music [Marc Riley on BBC 6 Music http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00c72y1/episodes/2011] Obtained 2011-05-04.
- ^ http://www.chartstats.com/release.php?release=50255
- ^ http://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/you-and-i-the-remixes/id465304616
External links
Wild Beasts Hayden Thorpe · Ben Little · Tom Fleming · Chris TalbotStudio albums EPs Wild Beasts · Espirit De Corps · All MenSingles "Brave Bulging Buoyant Clairvoyants"/"The Old Dog" · "Through Dark Night"/"Please Sir" · "Assembly"/"Sylvia, A Melodrama" · "The Devil's Crayon"/"Treacle Tin" · "Brave Bulging Buoyant Clairvoyants"/"Mummy's Boy" · "Hooting & Howling"/"Through the Iron Gate" · "All The King's Men" · "We Still Got The Taste Dancin' On Our Tongues"Record labels Domino Records · Bad Sneakers RecordsCategories:- Musical groups established in 2002
- British indie rock groups
- Post-punk revival music groups
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