"The further Wild Beasts get in their career the more of a misnomer their name becomes. The Lake District quartet began racous and rowdy but still refined, but from second album Two Dancers to Smother, they've most definitely decided less is more. Their sound is now more mature and layered, smooth and sultry; as tender and refined as The Smiths, but with a perpetual undercurrent of sexuality lingering (for example ""Plaything"", a stripped back ode to stripping off). It's not all hanky panky though; Albatross is a haunting ballad whilst ""Reach A Bit Further"" features the amazing interplay between co-vocalists Hayden Thorpe and Tom Fleming. The true standout is the epic closer ""End Come Too Soon"". The most ambitious track the quartet have attempted and possibly the best thing they've ever recorded, it glides along on a subtle groove and dreamlike guitars. With Smother, Wild Beasts continue to be the most astonishingly unique band in the country and are most certainly one of those rare once-in-a-generation groups."
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