Wild Beasts Returning to US for Brief Tour

British art-rockers Wild Beasts have traveled the world over the past six months in support of 2009 sophomore album, 'Two Dancers.' After making the rounds in Australia, America and the UK, the band spent the past month touring across Europe, playing their first-ever shows in Switzerland, Austria and Italy.

Frontman Hayden Thorpe gives the band's Europe run a glowing review, calling Switzerland "a diamond in the rough," Rome "absolutely beautiful" and describing a recent show in Ireland as "a very sweaty and exciting party." What he's really looking forward to, however, is returning to the US for a brief tour in August, which will include stops at Lollapalooza on Aug. 7 and New York's Highline Ballroom on Aug. 11.

"We've never experienced the warmth and generosity of US audiences anywhere else in the world," Thorpe tells Spinner. "Our first trip to New York was like going to this alternate universe where musicians and artists could act and live like they wanted to."

Since 'Two Dancers' expanded upon the sparkling pop of their 2008 debut, 'Limbo, Panto,' Wild Beasts have played shows with larger audiences and embraced their eccentricities. Gone are the days where Thorpe's countertenor voice, which can oscillate between a low warble and a high-pitched howl, would shock an unfamiliar audience.

"That was our party trick on the first album to make people notice us," Thorpe says. "I'm glad we did that, because it took balls. We would rather turn a lot of people off than leave anyone indifferent."

Wild Beasts will introduce themselves to a few unknowing concertgoers while making the festival rounds this summer, with planned stops at Primavera Sound, Glastonbury and Roskilde before their Lollapalooza gig. While Thorpe has enjoyed his band's recent headlining shows, he is looking forward to supporting bands with much flashier reputations.

"At Primavera, we're playing before Pavement," says Thorpe of the concert which took place Thursday. "I'm eager to bow down and accept my place opening for them."