Wild Beasts review – heart-racing, poignant farewell from indie originals

Hammersmith Apollo, LondonThis 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. Last September, the Cumbrian four-piece announced that, after releasing five albums, it was “time to leave this orbit”. You’d praise their self-awareness (critics agreed their last album, 2016’s Boy King, was their least remarkable) if they weren’t leaving such a gaping hole in the scene. It’s hard to think of another band who has so compellingly revelled and recoiled at masculinity, deconstructing and delighting in sexuality.When bands split, fans are usually privy to the wreckage rather than the last rites. The knowledge that tonight’s gig is the last time they will ever perform these songs (Wild Beasts have 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’s send-off. Continue reading…
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