Wild Beasts
Boy King
Domino Records
Four stars
After four albums of slippery, indie-electro wig-outs, fans might have been worried when Wild Beasts said this outing, their fifth, was a concept album examining "the self-destructive effects of modern-day masculinity".
Turns out, modern-day man isn't such an enigma. Much of Boy King is preoccupied with matters of the carnal variety. A bedroom stench oozes from the record's sloppy, sleazy, but utterly irresistible, twisted-disco grooves. Sharper, less fussy and more primal than previous work, the tone is set by opener Big Cat, a heady haze of squelching synths, bare beats and sweaty falsetto.
Temperatures rise with the smutty strut of Prince-esque Tough Guy. A true mood piece – if the album feels a little one-note, musically and lyrically – redemption comes in the 21-minute closer Boy King Trash.
It’s a strangely humane collage of offcuts and studio noodling that unravels the band’s (tongue-in-cheek) macho poise.
rgarratt@thenational.ae
