Two Dancers
Studio album by
Wild Beasts
Released3 August 2009
RecordedLedders Farm, Norfolk, January 2009
GenreIndie rock, art rock, dream pop
Length37:26
LabelDomino
ProducerRichard Formby, Wild Beasts
Wild Beasts chronology
Limbo, Panto
(2008) 		Two Dancers
(2009) 		Smother
(2011)
Singles from Two Dancers
  1. "Hooting & Howling"
    Released: 20 July 2009
  2. "All the King's Men"
    Released: 5 October 2009
  3. "We Still Got the Taste Dancin' on Our Tongues"
    Released: 22 March 2010

Two Dancers is the second studio album by British indie rock band Wild Beasts. It was released on 3 August 2009 in the UK on Domino Records, with a US release on 8 September. The track "Hooting and Howling" was released as the album's first single on 20 July. Two Dancers was very well received by critics.

In 2010. It was awarded a silver certification from the Independent Music Companies Association which indicated sales of at least 30,000 copies throughout Europe.[1] As of February 2018 it has sold 54,474 copies in United Kingdom and it remains there their top selling album according to OCC.[2]

Reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.6/10[3]
Metacritic83/100[4]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[5]
The Guardian[6]
The Irish Times[7]
Mojo[8]
NME9/10[9]
The Observer[10]
Pitchfork8.4/10[11]
Q[12]
The Sunday Times[13]
Uncut[14]

Aggregating website Metacritic reports a "universal acclaim" rating of 83% from notable critics. Pitchfork Media said, "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." Drowned in Sound stated, "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."

In 2010, Two Dancers was nominated for the Mercury Prize,[15] which was subsequently won by the xx.

The album was also included in the 2011 revision of the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.[16]

Accolades

Publication Country Accolade Year Rank
Drowned in Sound UK Top 50 Albums of 2009 2009 #8
The Fly UK Best Albums of 2009 2009 #1
The Guardian UK Top albums of 2009 2009 #3
NME UK Albums of the Year 2009 #4
Pitchfork Media USA The Top 50 Albums of 2009 2009 #22
Q UK 50 best albums of 2009 2009 #41
The Sunday Times UK The top 100 albums of 2009 2009 #5
NME UK Best Albums of the Decade 2009 #42

Track listing

  1. "The Fun Powder Plot" – 5:35
  2. "Hooting & Howling" – 4:35
  3. "All the King's Men" – 3:59
  4. "When I'm Sleepy" – 2:09
  5. "We Still Got the Taste Dancin' on Our Tongues" – 4:35
  6. "Two Dancers (i)" – 4:06
  7. "Two Dancers (ii)" – 2:37
  8. "This Is Our Lot" – 4:32
  9. "Underbelly" – 1:54
  10. "Empty Nest" – 3:24
  11. "Through the Iron Gate" (iTunes bonus track) – 5:37

Personnel

Charts

Chart (2009) Peak
position
French Albums (SNEP)[17] 193
UK Albums Chart[18] 68

References

  1. ^ "color". www.impalamusic.org. Archived from the original on 14 August 2017.
  2. ^ Homewood, ben (16 February 2018). "'This album is a band at its peak': The full story on Wild Beasts' final album for Domino". Music Week. Retrieved 9 June 2018.
  3. ^ "Two Dancers by Wild Beasts reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved 8 January 2020.
  4. ^ "Reviews for Two Dancers by Wild Beasts". Metacritic. Retrieved 24 October 2016.
  5. ^ Phares, Heather. "Two Dancers – Wild Beasts". AllMusic. Retrieved 25 January 2014.
  6. ^ Petridis, Alexis (31 July 2009). "Wild Beasts: Two Dancers". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 January 2014.
  7. ^ Gleeson, Sinéad (31 July 2009). "Wild Beasts: Two Dancers (Domino)". The Irish Times. Retrieved 25 January 2014.
  8. ^ "Wild Beasts: Two Dancers". Mojo (191): 90. September 2009.
  9. ^ Mackay, Emily (31 July 2009). "Album review: Wild Beasts – 'Two Dancers'". NME. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 25 January 2014.
  10. ^ Thomson, Graeme (12 July 2009). "Pop review: Wild Beasts, Two Dancers". The Observer. Retrieved 25 January 2014.
  11. ^ Berman, Stuart (31 August 2009). "Wild Beasts: Two Dancers". Pitchfork. Retrieved 25 January 2014.
  12. ^ "Wild Beasts: Two Dancers". Q: 106. 2009.
  13. ^ Cairns, Dan (2 August 2009). "Wild Beasts: Two Dancers". The Sunday Times. Archived from the original on 2 February 2017. Retrieved 25 January 2014.
  14. ^ Mulvey, John (28 July 2009). "Wild Beasts – Two Dancers". Uncut. Archived from the original on 2 February 2017. Retrieved 25 January 2014.
  15. ^ "Wild Beasts, band who brought sensuality to British indie, split up". The Guardian. 25 September 2017. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
  16. ^ Robert Dimery; Michael Lydon (2014). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die: Revised and Updated Edition. Universe. ISBN 978-0-7893-2074-2.
  17. ^ "Lescharts.com – Wild Beasts – Two Dancers". Hung Medien. Retrieved 25 January 2014.
  18. ^ "Wild Beasts" (select "Albums" tab). Official Charts Company. Retrieved 25 January 2014.
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