Having dropped the definitive article, Wild Beasts is on track to break the second album duck, with the Kendal four-piece’s new ten-track CD, Two Dancers. While soaring falsettos have been the preserve of some of the greatest artists both alive and deceased and, yes, I am thinking Buckley, Bee-Gees, Sparks et al, Hayden Thorpe, lead singer and founder (along with schoolmate Ben Little), is maintaining a high standard of tunefulness that is haunting, spacey, graceful and coarse in equal measure.

Alongside the frequently charming vocals, not all of which are in the upper registers, and thought-provoking lyrics is jaggy ‘rak-atak-atak’ guitar work that is part U2, part Simple Minds (nice to see you back, Jim!) and it is mostly inventive, incisive and magnificently generous in its delivery. These guys are making a surprisingly big sound for their purported ‘indie-rock’ status. Hayden and Ben are supported by bassist Tom Fleming and the intuitive skinsman Chris Talbot, whose off-beats and tight snare could become the stuff of legends. There is an all-pervading reality to this band’s view of life, drizzled frequently in the pleasures of the flesh… and the liver.

Yet, it is hard to believe that both Hayden and Ben have only been away from Queen Katherine School, Lake District, for about seven years, so broad are their apparent life experiences, which suggests that they have been living it to the maximum. Who can blame them? Yet, this is also a well-formed and satisfyingly honed four-piece that is onto its second entirely original album, a follow-up to last summer’s ‘Limbo, Panto’, which all critics felt was a guarded signpost to the future of this one band’s journey into the music business.

I get the feeling that it is their originality and sheer musical wonder that keeps their cohesiveness so appositely lubricated… although I am also sure that the occasional binge weekend does them no harm whatsoever. As long as Wild Beasts can maintain its current progressive form, there is no earthly reason to discount it from significant success in years to come. In many ways, I loathe classifications. This band is regarded as ‘indie-rock’, a tag that could have applied equally to U2 and Simple Minds in their early years. It will be fascinating to see what following Wild Beasts obtains on the summertime tour circuit, playing, as it is, several festivals and a run of regional halls. Keep your ears open for this lot, ‘Two Dancers’ is an enticing sound and Wild Beasts is on course for greatness, make no mistake.