Boy King

Last updated
Boy King
Wild Beasts - Boy King album artwork.jpg
Studio album by
Released5 August 2016 (2016-08-05)
StudioDallas, Texas
Genre
Length39:07
Label Domino
Producer John Congleton
Wild Beasts chronology
Present Tense
(2014)
Boy King
(2016)
Punk Drunk & Trembling
(2017)
Singles from Boy King
  1. "Get My Bang"
    Released: 24 May 2016
  2. "Big Cat"
    Released: 7 July 2016
  3. "Alpha Female"
    Released: 6 February 2017
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic 78/100 [1]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [2]
Consequence of Sound C+ [3]
Clash 7/10 [4]
DIY Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [5]
Drowned in Sound 7/10 [6]
Exclaim! 5/10 [7]
The Guardian Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [8]
Pitchfork 6.8/10 [9]
Record Collector Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [10]
Slant Magazine Star full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [11]

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

Contents

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

PublicationAccoladeYearRankRef.
NME NME's Albums of the Year 20162016
47
Rough Trade Albums of the Year2016
47
The Skinny Top 50 Albums of 20162016
31

Track listing

All tracks are written by Wild Beasts.

No.TitleLength
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.TitleLength
11."Boy King Trash"20:53

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

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References

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  2. "Boy King - Wild Beasts". AllMusic . Retrieved 7 December 2017.
  3. "Wild Beasts - Boy King". Consequence of Sound . Retrieved 7 December 2017.
  4. "Wild Beasts - Boy King". Clash . Retrieved 7 December 2017.
  5. "Album review: Wild Beasts - Boy King". DIY . 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. "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 . 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 2016-11-16. 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.