Wild Pantomime

Limbo, Panto
Wild Beasts
Domino, 2008
4 stars

How, and why, a group of twenty-one year old lads put together an album like this is astounding. When I was twenty-one I was still listening to Wu Tang, but with Limbo, Panto these guys have produced something far more sinister than any of the 36 Chambers - modern British math-tinged dinner-theatre rock. No, that’s not a mis-type. Hayden Thorpe’s falsetto is a weapon – at times he sounds like a wounded drag queen, but accompanied by some great keys and chiming indie guitars it’s a truly unique sound, and surprisingly palatable. Disregarding the vocals for a second (if you can), the instrumentation sounds like a more baroque, theatrical version of the Editors. The band produce some really engaging moments, such as bright opener Vigil For A Fuddy Duddy and the dark playfulness of Woebegone Wanderers - all in all, Limbo, Panto is easily one of the most welcome strangers to emerge in 2008.

Artwork: B
Bands are using old-world serif fonts on their album designs all over the place these days, but this is one band whose sound the look actually fits. The cover photo just looks like (surprise, surprise) a bunch of 21-year-olds goofing around with kitchen utensils and a slow shutter-speed, but the photos and text layouts on the inside of the booklet are nice and elegant, portraying a dark, twisted feel that perfectly compliments their skewed baroque sound.

Published in mX, Thursday July 17, 2008