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Wild Beasts have told 6 Music they're happy to be outsiders in the British music scene.

Set apart by singer Hayden Thorpe's countertenor vocals, the band’s sound falls outside the mould of standard guitar-based indie band.

Two Dancers, their second studio album which was released in August, garnered four and five star reviews across the board.

They kick off a world tour on 21 November in Amsterdam and after that, they'll take in Australia and the States before returning to the UK in March.

Vocalist Hayden said they're pleased to be taking their music further afield, because they feel the US, in particular, is more open-minded to their sound.

"Animal Collective getting into the top 20 Billboard charts, that’s unheard of here," he said, with bassist Tom Fleming adding: "It seemed like we didn’t have to justify ourselves as what we were because we have the luxury of being foreigners.

"People are just like, ‘Okay, that’s what they are’ and we could arrive fully formed. We didn’t have to try and convince people we were one thing and then try and lead them away from it. We arrived with the second album with a very good idea of who we are."

"The best British music has always been quite eccentric, quite out there and quite daring, and that was what the British sound was originally founded on, not this meat and two veg stuff."

Hayden Thorpe

Taking their music Stateside has led to some good exposure.  Not only has Pitchfork got behind them but their first ever New York gig was featured in the New York Times, which Hayden said was "a massive deal" for a British band.

Seemingly in awe of the scene, Tom said they were drawn in by the Big Apple: "The way we found it was very, very impressive and we felt very jealous really of what they had in terms of music culture."

The singer was critical of the current ‘indie band’ sound in the UK, even though he said their attitude to making music isn’t "deliberately non-British".

"If you think about all the British music, the best British music has always been quite eccentric, quite out there and quite daring, and that was what the British sound was originally founded on, not this meat and two veg stuff," he said.

As for his influences, Hayden said he looks more to the States for inspiration and referenced the "vulnerability" within the vocal styles of Jeff Buckley, Marvin Gaye and Neil Young.

He cites their "openness" when putting themselves across as making them more endearing and said: "You’ve got to stick your neck out to make people care for you."

Hayden thinks the presence of American bands in the UK is currently strong, which is good.

"There’s this very definite brand of British guitar music, which I think people are getting a bit bored of maybe, and I think there’s been a great influx of American bands lately, with Dirty Projectors and Animal Collective this year, two brilliant albums," he said.