Boy King

"Ponytail (song)" redirects here. For the song by XO, see Ponytail (XO song).

Boy King
Studio album by Wild Beasts
Released	5 August 2016 (2016-08-05)
Studio	Dallas, Texas
Genre	New wave electronic rock synthpop indie pop
Length	39:07
Label	Domino
Producer	John Congleton
Wild Beasts chronology
Present Tense (2014) Boy King (2016) Punk Drunk & Trembling (2017)
Singles from Boy King
"Get My Bang" Released: 24 May 2016 "Big Cat" Released: 7 July 2016 "Alpha Female" Released: 6 February 2017

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	78/100 [1]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
Consequence of Sound	C+ [3]
Clash	7/10 [4]
DIY	[5]
Drowned in Sound	7/10 [6]
Exclaim!	5/10 [7]
The Guardian	[8]
Pitchfork	6.8/10 [9]
Record Collector	[10]
Slant Magazine	[11]

Boy King is the fifth and final studio album by Wild Beasts, released on 5 August 2016 through Domino Records.

Background

Boy King is a concept album dealing with the self-destructive effects of modern-day masculinity. The album has a heavier sound than the band's previous work, featuring distorted synths, compressed drum machine-like beats and guitar solos, marking a big departure from the band's soft yet dramatic art pop sound, which was featured on their past four albums. It was recorded in Dallas, Texas with producer John Congleton, who previously helmed albums by St. Vincent and Swans.

Accolades

Publication	Accolade	Year	Rank	Ref.
NME	NME's Albums of the Year 2016	2016	47	[12]
Rough Trade	Albums of the Year	2016	47	[13]
The Skinny	Top 50 Albums of 2016	2016	31	[14]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Wild Beasts.

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Big Cat"	3:07
2.	"Tough Guy"	3:31
3.	"Alpha Female"	3:45
4.	"Get My Bang"	3:33
5.	"Celestial Creatures"	4:28
6.	"2BU"	4:19
7.	"He the Colossus"	4:11
8.	"Ponytail"	3:38
9.	"Eat Your Heart Out Adonis"	3:56
10.	"Dreamliner"	4:44

Deluxe edition bonus track ^[15]

No.	Title	Length
11.	"Boy King Trash"	20:53

Personnel

• Tom Fleming – vocals, guitar, keyboards, sampler
• Hayden Thorpe – vocals, bass, keyboards, programming, vocoder
• Ben Little – guitar, keyboards, programming
• Chris Talbot – drums, percussion, keyboards

Charts

Chart (2016)	Peak position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) [16]	63
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia) [17]	80
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [18]	182
French Albums (SNEP) [19]	186
Irish Albums (IRMA) [20]	23
Scottish Albums (OCC) [21]	9
UK Albums (OCC) [22]	9

References

1. "Boy King by Wild Beasts". Metacritic . Retrieved 24 October 2016.
2. "Boy King - Wild Beasts". AllMusic . Retrieved 7 December 2017.
3. "Wild Beasts - Boy King". Consequence of Sound. 2 August 2016. Retrieved 7 December 2017.
4. "Wild Beasts - Boy King". Clash. 11 August 2016. Retrieved 7 December 2017.
5. "Album review: Wild Beasts - Boy King". DIY. 29 July 2016. Retrieved 7 December 2017.
6. "Album Review: Wild Beasts - Boy King". Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on 13 April 2019. Retrieved 7 December 2017.
7. "Wild Beasts Boy King". Exclaim! . Retrieved 7 December 2017.
8. Simpson, Dave (4 August 2016). "Wild Beasts: Boy King review – muscular grooves and liberation on their best yet". The Guardian . Retrieved 7 December 2017.
9. "Wild Beasts: Boy King Album Review". Pitchfork . Retrieved 7 December 2017.
10. "Boy King". Record Collector . Retrieved 7 December 2017.
11. "Wild Beasts: Boy King". Slant Magazine. 27 July 2016. Retrieved 7 December 2017.
12. "NME's Albums of the Year 2016". NME . 24 November 2016. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
13. "Albums of the Year". Rough Trade . 14 November 2016. Archived from the original on 16 November 2016. Retrieved 15 November 2016.
14. "Top 50 Albums of 2016". The Skinny . 1 December 2016. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
15. "Boy King" . Retrieved 26 July 2016.
16. "Ultratop.be – Wild Beasts – Boy King" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 12 August 2016.
17. "Ultratop.be – Wild Beasts – Boy King" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 12 August 2016.
18. "Dutchcharts.nl – Wild Beasts – Boy King" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
19. "Lescharts.com – Wild Beasts – Boy King". Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
20. "Irish-charts.com – Discography Wild Beasts". Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
21. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 13 August 2016.
22. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 13 August 2016.