There are some pleasures in life that aren’t all that costly, fattening, or illegal. One such pleasure is the introduction to a wonderful new band. One such wonderful new band goes by the name Wild Beasts.

It’s depressing describing the sound of band in the digital age, as by the time you’ve thought of something original or witty, or managed to draw some illustrative and elaborate comparison… the person you’re informing has already been on MySpace, YouTube or last.fm and judged them for themselves. Suffice it to say, they’re worth a million of The View, The Enemy or any other dreary, creatively deficient band Radio 1 or NME have been pedalling of late.

Their sound, if you haven’t heard by now, is most complimented by the fact there aren’t many obvious similarities. You can hear Johnny Marr in some of the jangling guitars, you can hear a whimsical playwright in the lyrics and you can hear a madman in the vocals. The singing – by frontman Hayden Thorpe – is what first grabs, and it fluctuates between fairytale falsetto and guttural screeching. They have song titles such as ‘Vigil for a Fuddy Duddy’ and lyrics such as ‘…take these chips with cheese as an offering of peace.’ They’re difficult not to love.

Originating from Kendal before moving to Leeds in 2005 (a decent live scene and cheapish housing, apparently) Wild Beasts released their excellent debut album Limbo, Panto in 2008 on indie behemoths Domino Records; and have been championed by such luminaries as Marc Riley, Pitchfork, and even The Guardian have shortlisted them for their Best Debut Album of the Year accolade.

Wild Beasts are sincerely one of the most exciting bands I’ve heard in a long time. And I struggle to think of any other recent British bands with both a bucket-load of originality as well as undeniable commercial appeal. The last band to pull this off, perhaps, is label mates Arctic Monkeys. Thankfully though, they sound nothing like.

But anyways, they’re truly great, their album is magic, and they’ll be touring again soon. So go and pour the splendour down your head holes and let me know what you think.

Check out Wild Beasts at: www.myspace.com/wildbeasts