Considering how many bands have come along to embrace the hook-savvy, festival-headlining potentials of post-millennial indie rock in the past few years, The Wants are more concerned in allowing listeners to see colors fly out of the speakers and crack open the back-patting nostalgia of pop music in the most convenient way possible. The moments spent on laying a gloriously uplifting template—equal parts Foals, equal parts Ezra Koenig, remaining parts buzzband of the current year—while achieving a balance between funk and feeling, are both self-aware and captivating in big, bold letters.

And in the context of “Beast,” these guys are capable of rendering perky pop hooks and summery comfort without falling into the desperation of attention-starved breakout bands lobbying their shot at CHR supremacy. The melodies are deceptively simple, but clearly know the intricacies of transition and space, even complementing the sparkly, slow build that it sashays. You can hear your heart skip a beat for every “the beast in my head is toying with me” line repeated, for every revealing earnestness that jumps out of the lyrics. All of it is relatable: the guilt, the frustration, and the questions that you wish to die in your head. But the music just comes off as bouncy and pure fun that’s impossible for you not to get lost with each passing second. Best of all: you can dance to it, even if at the back of your mind, you sort of worry where it would lead you after.
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