Two Dancers
by Wild Beasts
  • Record Label: Domino
  • Release Date: Sep 8, 2009
Metascore
83

Universal acclaim - based on 19 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 18 out of 19
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 19
  3. Negative: 0 out of 19
  1. Drowned In Sound
    90
    Two Dancers, then, doesn't so much follow up their debut as announce Wild Beasts as one of our genuinely special bands, one that can compete--in terms of both musical and lyrical ingenuity as well as sheer pop nous--with any US act you've seen talked up in the music press this year.
  2. musicOMH.com
    90
    As the subtle, off-tonic final note puts to bed the album closer The Empty Nest, and with every aspect of the record exceeding expectations, Two Dancers makes a strong case to be named album of the year.
  3. New Musical Express (NME)
    90
    Wild Beasts have undergone a sea change, and this beautiful album is a treasure that deserves plundering.
  5. No Ripcord
    90
    Only one year later and we have Two Dancers an album so laden with lush densities and provocative melodies that you would be forgiven for thinking this album had taken ten years to make.
  6. Slant Magazine
    90
    Two Dancers is a striking, dynamic album, and will deservedly land on many year-end lists.
  7. Pitchfork
    84
    Wild Beasts certainly aren't the first rock band to stand up society's dregs and outcasts, but few others immortalize them on such a wondrous, mythic scale.
  8. Observer Music Monthly
    80
    The heart of Two Dancers lies in these seemingly jarring juxtapositions. The individual ingredients may be a decidedly mixed bag, but the final product is both coherent and very satisfying.
  9. Mojo
    80
    Every song on Two Dancers reflects the meticulous intelligence of master stylists. [Sep 2009, p.90]
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  10. AllMusic
    80
    With Two Dancers, the Wild Beasts move from fascinating to accomplished, and that they did so just over a year after releasing "Limbo, Panto" makes that achievement all the more impressive.
  11. PopMatters
    80
    The eccentricities are still present, the quirks still correct, but everything has been shepherded into a more cohesive, frequently more melancholy, totality.
  12. Uncut
    80
    Wild Beasts summon up the ghosts of that decade’s [1980s] brainier, more flamboyant indie bands.
  13. Prefix Magazine
    80
    Instead of spoon-feeding you how you’re supposed to react, they challenge you to understand them.
  14. Under The Radar
    80
    He's obviously looking for something that probably won't be found, but across this epic 10 song journey it becomes apparent that he's having the time of his life, and tearing his guts out while searching. [Fall 2009, p.68]
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  15. Delusions of Adequacy
    80
    It’s great to have another album so musically rich that extols misbehavior as accurately as it soundtracks it. Let’s dance.
  16. NOW Magazine
    80
    The band’s sophomore effort is solid throughout, offering a heady mix of shimmering guitars, arty lyrics and creative rhythms that build on the work of romantic NYC indie bands like the National, the Walkmen and French Kicks.
  17. cokemachineglow
    77
    Thorpe and co. can still sound as if they play against rather than off one another. But Two Dancers, a huge improvement that comes only one year after their debut, is certainly the sounds of Wild Beasts becoming a band to keep tabs on.
  18. The Boston Phoenix
    75
    Two Dancers is expressive without being effusive, polished without sounding stilted, and provocatively playful.
  19. Dot Music
    70
    Much scruffier and far less inhibited than Coldplay, and way more compelling than Editors, Two Dancers is widescreen stuff nonetheless and an album that will carry them across more thresholds than their first.

Awards & Rankings

30
#30 Best Album of 2009

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
8.7

Universal acclaim- based on 47 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 43 out of 47
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 47
  3. Negative: 2 out of 47
  1. Muddsjr
    Mar 23, 2014
    9
    Two Dancers is a bit overdone lyrically, but it's otherwise the sound of a band who are keen to make a big difference in music. The sense of aTwo Dancers is a bit overdone lyrically, but it's otherwise the sound of a band who are keen to make a big difference in music. The sense of a stone cold classic to come from this band in a few years time remains sharp, and if it doesn't happen, then pigs shall fly.… Full Review »
  2. GamerPiggy
    May 17, 2012
    10
    This album is fantastic in every way. I vaguely remember not caring much for it the first couple times, but then one song stuck out to me: FunThis album is fantastic in every way. I vaguely remember not caring much for it the first couple times, but then one song stuck out to me: Fun Powder Plot. As I listened to that track, more and more tracks began to stick out, until at last I was singing along to the entire album over and over and over. It's erotic, but not romantic or contrived. It's moody, but not immature or sophomoric. The lyrics are incredibly poetic, taking cues from all kinds of classic literature (although following album is more obvious about its inspirations).
    One of my favorite albums ever; I cannot recommend it enough.    … Full Review »
  3. JohnnyZeckel
    Sep 23, 2011
    10
    My God, Wild Beasts, what have you done? You've just created something you can never beat, some masterpiece that you will never recover from!My God, Wild Beasts, what have you done? You've just created something you can never beat, some masterpiece that you will never recover from!
    In the meantime, we can listen to it, to its beautifully crafted songs, to its wonderful lyrics, and its dangerous melodies. An album to listen when it rains, when it's sunny and when you're drunk and nobody will sleep with you.    … Full Review »
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