It wasn't a click as much as a breaking of a shell. You see,
Smother is a gift, wrapped in brown paper, and a little beat up. The fact that I would even want the thing is a little embarassing. But I start to unravel, start to open. As soon as I rip off the last piece of tape, I see it - the gift. Inside is nothing but color, a reflection of the air, and as soon as my eyes focused its vision upon it, the anxious waiting room that I sat for days in while waiting for this lush album to kick in seems to disappear into memory.
Smother is now mine, open and willing to share its glow as much as I let it.
Whatever you put into
Smother is what you're ultimately going to get out. Albums that deserve or demand effort usually tend to pay off in the end more than what was deserved with the effort given. Not with
Smother; if you feel like neglecting it for its subtle, almost minimalistic approach to it's blossoming, unwavering aesthetic you'll likely get a record that doesn't live up to the more melodical and upfront
Two Dancers. If you allow yourself to delve however, if you allow your patience to wear thin, you begin to notice that under the gorgeous surface lies some truly brilliant songwriting. Up and down, from the bubbling "Lion's Share" to the crippling ghastliness of "Invisible", to lead single "Albatross" and its unforgettable, it's-too-easy-for-them chorus, to the reserved climax of "End Come Too Soon",
Smother rarely wavers from delivering a knockout punch. The rhythm-centric
Smother is littered with slight pricks of melodious euphoria that encompass the layered sound with washes of color, as frontman Hayden Thorpe uses a locomotive of a falsetto to spring life into these lush fissures. Wild Beasts strike an incredible chord between being grounded and floating away:
Smother is a house with a steady foundation, but everything from the first floor up is a neon-lit stoner party, as fog lights hinder the senses, but enlighten the moment.
