Blog: PopMatters

Wild Beasts return with a subtle, stripped-down album that represents their finest work -- and one of the finest albums you'll hear all year. There's a moment on "Lion's Share", the opening track on Wild Beasts' third LP, Smother, where a steady beat bubbles up in the low-end of the mix. The percussion slithers underneath Hayden Thorpe's angelic falsetto and gentle piano melody, co-leader Tom Fleming lending his voice in harmony. Fans raised on the UK-based group's past two albums, Limbo, Panto (2008) and Two Dancers (2009), know the signal: the rhythm section is readying itself to join the...