Wild Beasts

Overview

St Jerome's Laneway Festival has a knack of bringing out people we might otherwise miss in our backwater down here in 'Straya, and Wild Beasts definitely fit into that camp with their (ahem) camp, verbose, literary penmanship and sonic approach. Their sound takes from the great pompous artists of pop music; they toe the line of pretensios, only narrowly saving themselves with melodies and rhythms that are both vital and gorgeously simple.

With their heavily alliterated and poetic songs like Brave Buoyant Bulging Clairvoyant and Hooting and Howling, you never quite know if they are taking themselves too seriously or taking the piss. The main singer Tom Fleming sounds like a mix of Morrisey and Antony; with one of those voices that people either love or hate. Britain certainly loves them with the Sunday Times calling Two Dancers "one of 2009's indisputable masterpieces". Let's see if 'Straya loves them too.