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Critic Reviews
90
Two Dancers ... doesn't so much follow up their debut as announce Wild Beasts as one of our genuinely special bands, one that can compete - in terms of both musical and lyrical ingenuity as well as sheer pop nous - with any US act you've seen talked up in the music press this year.
15y
90
Two Dancers is another sublime step forward for Wild Beasts, one that might hopefully bring them much more deserved appreciation.
6y
90
Affecting, audacious, captivating of fantastical flourishes, it’s an album to champion ‘til all superlatives are spent. Love it.
11y
90
Two Dancers is a striking, dynamic album, and will deservedly land on many year-end lists.
11y
90
Such balance epitomises a well-rounded album that’s as easy on the ears as Wild Beasts lyrical caricatures aim to appear on the eyes. It’s just this that time they may not quite be so wild.
11y
90
Always returning and playing over in the mind is what I see as the sound that makes Wild Beasts so unmistakable and unforgettable. The haunting serenade of the lead vocal completes the whole set and helps the album make sense, engaging the listener in letting go of all things logical to enjoy the experience.
12y
90
An album so laden with lush densities and provocative melodies that you would be forgiven for thinking this album had taken ten years to make.
15y
90
Ignore speculation, and simply make time to bask in the seemingly endless supply of luxurious delights contained within this stunning achievement.
15y
90
Wild Beasts have undergone a sea change, and this beautiful album is a treasure that deserves plundering.
15y
85
Two Dancers has a blend of invention and pop sensibility that seems to have been largely lacking on this side of the Atlantic in recent years.
11y
84
UK quartet follows 2008's fidgety, impulsive baroque-rock debut, Limbo, Panto, with an album that refashions them as a steely art-funk outfit.
15y
80
Every song on Two Dancers reflects the meticulous intelligence of master stylists.
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3y
80
Two Dancers is a clear step forward for Wild Beasts, ably taking them from talented rookies to driven, inspired standouts in one leap.
8y
80
The heart of Two Dancers lies in these seemingly jarring juxtapositions. The individual ingredients may be a decidedly mixed bag, but the final product is both coherent and very satisfying.
8y
80
Instead of spoon-feeding you how you’re supposed to react, they challenge you to understand them.
5y
80
Two Dancers marks a big step forward for Wild Beasts. The eccentricities are still present, the quirks still correct, but everything has been shepherded into a more cohesive, frequently more melancholy, totality.
15y
80
The band’s sophomore effort is solid throughout, offering a heady mix of shimmering guitars, arty lyrics and creative rhythms that build on the work of romantic NYC indie bands like the National, the Walkmen and French Kicks.
5y
80
Wild Beasts summon up the ghosts of that decade’s brainier, more flamboyant indie bands.
10y
80
With Two Dancers, the Wild Beasts move from fascinating to accomplished, and that they did so just over a year after releasing Limbo, Panto makes that achievement all the more impressive.
15y
80
Wild Beasts have a confusing and complex relationship to pop; they’re at once anthemic, and quite out of reach, almost aggressively challenging at times. So it’s fitting, perhaps, that they leave me a little ambivalent as to what I want from them.
10y
80
He's obviously looking for something that probably won't be found, but across this epic 10 song journey it becomes apparent that he's having the time of his life, and tearing his guts out while searching.
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3y
77
Thorpe and co. can still sound as if they play against rather than off one another. But Two Dancers, a huge improvement that comes only one year after their debut, is certainly the sounds of Wild Beasts becoming a band to keep tabs on.
11y
60
It's a strange state of affairs, a band that really come into their own when they background their greatest asset. But there's a lesson in there: sometimes, less is more.
10y
60
It's an assured follow-up that rubbishes the notion of the difficult second album. Hayden Thorpe's falsetto eerily echoes The Associate's Billy McKenzie, but even this is kept in check.
5y
60
Not unlike the Cocteau Twins, Wild Beasts live in a hermetically-sealed sonic world. And they can scratch.
5y
50
Only on the title track does Thorpe settle into something more appealingly even-keeled.
12y
This is kind of a hard album to rate. On one hand, I loved the instrumentals. With a range of subtle to more in-your-face, the instrumentals carried the right energy on each track. I enjoyed the vocals too. They usually matched up with the ambiance on the tracks, and they added an extra edge to cement the quality of each track. The lyrics, however, particularly towards the beginning, just made no sense. Nonsensical rambling in order to create a certain vibe can work well, but I don't think it ... read more
How marvelous the wild beasts have been transformed into two dancers who aren't simply performing their art, but they are here to test and eventually give new shapes to their indie dance.
Recommended this from Michael Imperioli (Chrissy from the Sopranos), who has exquisite taste. Glad I checked it out. Trusting his opinions wholeheartedly.
Wild Beasts vocals are a turnoff for some but man if you can get past it you will enjoy this album. These guys are incredible musicians who made a classic.
I can tell that I’m gonna have some random parts of these songs just stuck in my head for the next few days… I’m gonna sound so stupid trying to sing it.
This album is very unique in its approach, themes, instrumentation, vocals, and completion. All of this is the pretentious and yap-filled way to say this is an interesting album.
I really do have a weak spot for unique singers and it’s just really cool how many melodic lines in the tracks feel standalone and unique ... read more
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Track List
| 1 | The Fun Powder Plot 5:35 | 79 |
| 2 | Hooting & Howling 4:35 | 79 |
| 3 | All the King's Men 3:59 | 79 |
| 4 | When I'm Sleepy 2:09 | 66 |
| 5 | We Still Got the Taste Dancin' On Our Tongues 4:35 | 84 |
| 6 | Two Dancers 4:06 | 80 |
| 7 | Two Dancers II 2:37 | 77 |
| 8 | This Is Our Lot 4:32 | 77 |
| 9 | Underbelly 1:54 | 69 |
| 10 | Empty Nest 3:24 | 75 |
Total Length: 37 minutes
Year End Lists
| #4 | / | musicOMH |
| #4 | / | NME |
| #5 | / | Uncut |
| #6 | / | Clash |
| #8 | / | Drowned in Sound |
| #10 | / | No Ripcord |
| #10 | / | The Line of Best Fit |
| #22 | / | Pitchfork |
| #28 | / | Stereogum |
| #32 | / | MOJO |
| #38 | / | Beats Per Minute |
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