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10.0
62860
10.0 |
DIY
Their most complete record by a serious stretch, it's a work that laughs, cries, detests, adores and above anything else inspires
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10.0
62895
10.0 |
The Line Of Best Fit
They’ve pulled off possibly the most intelligent, involving and profound record since OK Computer
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10.0
63240
10.0 |
State
Present Tense is Wild Beasts’ best collection of songs. Furthermore it is their best sounding album and their best exercise in songwriting ye
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9.5
62818
9.5 |
The 405
On their past albums Wild Beasts have shown us their savage and raw sides, which have been gloriously charming and exciting, but by opening up on Present Tense and revealing their true hearts, their music has ascended to new heights
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9.0
62786
9.0 |
musicOMH
It may have been several years in the making, but Wild Beasts have once again managed to outdo themselves
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9.0
62800
9.0 |
The Fly
A record that’s as honest and open-hearted as anything this great band have put their names to yet
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9.0
62801
9.0 |
Uncut
For the fourth album in a row, they've moved the goalposts
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9.0
62935
9.0 |
The Quietus
Another remarkable achievement from this wonderful group
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9.0
62891
9.0 |
NME
An LP that feels more in sync with contemporary music than ever before
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9.0
63299
9.0 |
FasterLouder
The highest compliment you can pay Wild Beasts is that their records sound not just stronger, but deeper and more meaningful, with every listen
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9.0
63306
9.0 |
PopMatters
One of the most quietly exhilarating albums in recent memory, and all the more so for using its evocative power to unsettle and seduce in equal measure
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9.0
63204
9.0 |
Slant Magazine
Present Tense possesses a complexity that's not so calculated, focusing on the passage of music rather than layer upon layer of sound
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9.0
62944
9.0 |
Digital Spy
Stripping back their sound to allow each little musical intricacy to breathe has made for an understated thing of beauty which improves with repeated plays
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8.3
62862
8.3 |
Pretty Much Amazing
Present Tense marks a potent descent to Earth for Wild Beasts. As they shed their idealism they continue to adopt new shades of complexity, and are all the better for it
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8.2
63025
8.2 |
Pitchfork
Lucky for us, there’s no one else like them and on Present Tense, their success has allowed Wild Beasts to be even more like themselves
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8.0
62742
8.0 |
Drowned In Sound
Present Tense might lack the immediacy of both Smother and Two Dancers, but scratch away at the surface and its a record oozing with the precision and maturity we've come to expect from its creators
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8.0
62995
8.0 |
All Music
It's a compelling album that shows Wild Beasts can build on their breakthrough in satisfying and challenging ways
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8.0
62991
8.0 |
The Arts Desk
Any indie band worth the name has to have an odd-sounding singer, but Wild Beasts have two
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8.0
63068
8.0 |
The Digital Fix
Some may find the need to let Present Tense grow a bit. For those familiar with the ways these guys work, just dive right in. For this, their fourth album, is a beaut
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8.0
63107
8.0 |
Fact
A weary quiet pervades Present Tense, a notably sombre offering from Kendal’s one-time birds of paradise
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8.0
62890
8.0 |
Evening Standard
Increasingly, there’s no other band like them – a fine achievement
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8.0
62898
8.0 |
The FT
The songs are subtly conceived and quietly mesmerising
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8.0
62927
8.0 |
The Observer
There's powerful drama and enigmatic subtlety in equal measure as the Cumbrian four-piece once again embrace understated electronica
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8.0
62802
8.0 |
Mojo
Leavens signature creative audacity with newfound restraint. Print edition only
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8.0
62803
8.0 |
Q
The work of a richly creative entity still in the ascendant, those with a mind to will drink deep. Print edition only
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8.0
62798
8.0 |
Clash
As always, Wild Beasts’ songs are unusually intimate, and the electronic evolution of ‘Present Tense’ captures their characteristically microscopic explorations of human interaction
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8.0
62799
8.0 |
The Skinny
An exercise in delivering impact through seemingly minimal means
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8.0
62819
8.0 |
The Music
This is the most measured and confident release from Wild Beasts, an absorbing hymn to modern life
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7.5
63437
7.5 |
Crack
The triumph of Present Tense is that they manage to keep hold of this whilst continuing to push their own sound
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7.5
63034
7.5 |
Paste Magazine
A very solid synthesis of where Wild Beasts have been, and it offers a number of potential paths for the band moving forward
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7.0
62992
7.0 |
Loud And Quiet
It’s a heavyweight effort, almost devoid of fun, but heavy with feeling
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6.7
62987
6.7 |
Consequence Of Sound
Present Tense fends off stagnation, but without some new tricks up their sleeve, one wonders how long they can avoid that fate
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6.5
63114
6.5 |
Under The Radar
The next installment in a (very) gradual progression, rather than a bold reinvention
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6.0
62940
6.0 |
The List
Technically immaculate, it's a daring attempt to dissolve into a new genre, and one admirable, but for most parts it feels like a self-satisfying first wade rather than a round-the-world-while-blindfolded triumph
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6.0
62894
6.0 |
The Independent
The album employs an Eighties electropop style, occasionally peppered with neat, itchy guitar though it’s Thorpe’s sylvan voice that pulls the songs through
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4.0
63244
4.0 |
God Is In The TV
Critics and fans have rightfully slobbered all over the Beasts once again, though in my minority opinion the fun factor is a little low, the humour factor non-existent and the colours a little too bleached
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