• Record Label: Domino
  • Release Date: Feb 25, 2014
User Score
8.4

Universal acclaim- based on 70 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 63 out of 70
  2. Negative: 2 out of 70
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  1. Feb 25, 2014
    10
    This is almost perfect! I thought it was impossible to make something better than "Smother" (Their previous one) but I) was wrong. This album means a very possitive evolution.

    Will they make anything better for the 5th album? Now the top is high so it's difficult to say!
  2. Mar 12, 2014
    9
    Present Tense is excellence, a brilliant record with complex lyrics, cleaner and stronger vocals and of course beautiful music, it's one of the best albums of this astounding year.
  3. Mar 7, 2014
    9
    Very interesting indie rock music, accompanied by great lyrics and calming vocals. My favorite tracks are: Mecca, Daughters, A Simple Beautiful Truth, A Dog's Life, Past Perfect, and Palace.
  4. May 10, 2020
    10
    Okay. Let's try not be too hyperbolic. This is truly a masterpiece. And I really can't give more than 4 albums a 10. Didn't like it at first? Try again, trust me. Give yourself a dark room and submit.
  5. Apr 24, 2014
    9
    I know it might be a little premature, but this may be one of the best albums of the year down the line. Although the band changes their style up pretty drastically, with a lot of electronic elements, they still remain the same at the core. Every track is pretty solid for the most part. Only real let down is Nature Boy for me. Overall, the record is a bit more minimal than the previous LP,I know it might be a little premature, but this may be one of the best albums of the year down the line. Although the band changes their style up pretty drastically, with a lot of electronic elements, they still remain the same at the core. Every track is pretty solid for the most part. Only real let down is Nature Boy for me. Overall, the record is a bit more minimal than the previous LP, while guitar and synth melodies seem to be most prominent here. Lots of reverb as well, on the drums and guitar mainly, which gives it a real 80's sound. Pretty haunting vocal melodies as well. Expand
  6. Mar 23, 2014
    8
    Wow. An 8 out of 10. Out of this writing, it's the lowest review of this album. I have consistently come back to it ever since I downloaded it, and am willing to just let it run through the entire thing because it is so solid throughout. Listening to it speeds up time for me, as the lead singer has a particularly engrossing voice.
  7. Apr 16, 2014
    9
    No matter what your taste may be, you simply can't dislike this album. Wild Beasts have craftily manipulated sound, time, and rhythm to create the musical equivalent of a Picasso. Present Tense retains the band's signature pensive, occasionally brooding atmosphere, but distinguishes itself from predecessor Smother by overtly emphasizing the emotional drama the record's operatic vocals andNo matter what your taste may be, you simply can't dislike this album. Wild Beasts have craftily manipulated sound, time, and rhythm to create the musical equivalent of a Picasso. Present Tense retains the band's signature pensive, occasionally brooding atmosphere, but distinguishes itself from predecessor Smother by overtly emphasizing the emotional drama the record's operatic vocals and longing chords consistently generate. Wild Beasts profess their creative and musical maturity not only through the album's superlative rhythms and lyrics and heightened sense of spatial and self awareness, but also by successfully replicating the organic textures and impressions that made their previous albums such a revelation to listen to. Such inclusions as the trembling and wobbly synthetic instrumentals in "Wanderlust," the dynamic yet humble drumbeats in "A Dog's Life," and the inspiringly emotive vocals in "Sweet Spot," make Present Tense arguably the band's most accessibly organic and expressive album yet.

    FINAL SCORE: 92.5 (almost perfect -----o--------------- perfect)
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  8. Mar 16, 2014
    9
    Wild Beasts never cease to amaze me. They produce music unlike any other band out there at the moment and this album is no different - brilliantly unique.
  9. Mar 23, 2014
    9
    While at first I felt the songs sounded to similar and did not differentiate themselves enough to provide a listen that was engaging the whole way through, every subsequent listen proved these assertions false. The sound is consistent throughout and does not stray away from Wild Beasts' new, electronic-tinged indie synth rock, but that plays no negative role in degrading the songwriting.While at first I felt the songs sounded to similar and did not differentiate themselves enough to provide a listen that was engaging the whole way through, every subsequent listen proved these assertions false. The sound is consistent throughout and does not stray away from Wild Beasts' new, electronic-tinged indie synth rock, but that plays no negative role in degrading the songwriting. There are many aspects that make Present Tense great, one of them being that somehow, even though it is not immensely complex, it is a listen that begs return to fully comprehend what is taking place - an impressive feat usually found in long 70+ min albums, but present in Present Tense, which clocks in at about 40. Again, the more I listen to it the more I find myself repeating the songs in my head, the more I want to listen to it again. Overall, decidedly one of the best 2014 has had to offer, and one of the best albums of the decade so far. Only Sun Kil Moon's Benji can claim to have more coherency and more ambition.

    Track Picks: Nature Boy, Mecca, Pregnant Pause, A Dog's Life, Palace
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  10. Mar 28, 2014
    8
    Present Tense is a bit drifted here and there, but the confident and enlivened vocal performances of this bands most electronic based album to date casts strong feelings and thoughts that this could possibly be their best album to date, if not, then the build up to something far more spectacular.
  11. Feb 25, 2014
    9
    The moods that Present Tense gives off are not as delightful as the pop structure in which they are presented. Speaking in terms of sensation, and what it means to be, are what songs like Wanderlust spew. The words "feel" are one of the most often used words through out the album, which gets sort of obnoxious once you begin to notice its repetition. That said, repetition in this case doesThe moods that Present Tense gives off are not as delightful as the pop structure in which they are presented. Speaking in terms of sensation, and what it means to be, are what songs like Wanderlust spew. The words "feel" are one of the most often used words through out the album, which gets sort of obnoxious once you begin to notice its repetition. That said, repetition in this case does not equal over use, because each time the word it is spoken, it is in a new context.
    Wild Beasts have two lead singers, and knows exactly how to use them. Although contrast is more prominent between tracks than within them, it is still evident in the hook of Nature Boy, the way the "Feel the things you'll never feel," are sung can only be described as chilling. The sincerity of his baritone vibratos like a tennis ball in your ear. Vocal contrast is another thing, because it seems when switched back to the more tenor voice, the instruments backing him up move with him. This is not a make or break point of the album, but something that could be missing.
    There is a lot more I could say about this album, but I'm very lazy.
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Metascore
86

Universal acclaim - based on 27 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 26 out of 27
  2. Negative: 0 out of 27
  1. Mar 31, 2014
    80
    Perhaps their most impressive, consistent and varied offering to date.
  2. Mar 7, 2014
    90
    The way Wild Beasts can’t seem to play a bum note or place a single syllable in the wrong verse, makes Present Tense 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.
  3. Mar 3, 2014
    90
    Present Tense possesses a complexity that's not so calculated, focusing on the passage of music rather than layer upon layer of sound. Its 11 synth-drenched tracks are more bare than those on Smother, but they move much more fluidly, their liquiform seduction establishing a contrast with the band's ominous lyrics.