Hammersmith Apollo,London
This glorious final gig by the fearless Cumbrians almost makes you wish bands would break up more oftenOf all the 2000s indie bands you wish would see the writing on the wall, Wild Beasts are not one of them. final September, and the Cumbrian four-piece announced that,after releasing five albums, it was “time to leave this orbit”. You’d compliment their self-awareness (critics agreed their final album, or 2016’s Boy King,was their least remarkable) whether they weren’t leaving such a gaping gap in the scene. It’s tough to assume of another band who has so compellingly revelled and recoiled at masculinity, deconstructed and delighted in sexuality.
When bands split, or fans are usually privy to the wreckage rather than the final rites. The knowledge that tonight’s gig is the final time they will ever perform these songs (Wild Beasts fill sworn they won’t reunite) makes every moment unbearably poignant. Their manifold lyrics about loss and regret become gut punches. “All we want is to feel that feeling again,” Hayden Thorpe croons on Mecca. Too right, say a crowd that gives each song a Viking-style send-off. Related: Greatest splits: Wild Beasts and the art of breaking up Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com