But there’s more drama here than in previous works: Maybe Murphy is killing the director himself. The Wombat's fourth album is a solid effort despite occasional detours into disappointment, reviews Amelia Hiller. Mostly, though, this album is all about massive bangers. Ever since their critically 2007 debut album, the Liverpudlian trio have been a mainstay in the UK and European festival scene. If you choose to use this review on your site please link back to this page. Not a huge amount has changed. 3 out of 5 stars. The Wombats review, Alexandra Palace, London: Rip-roaring, energetic performance Band have made a triumphant return with their new album 'Beautiful People Will Ruin Your Life… The Wombat's fourth album is a solid effort despite occasional detours into disappointment, reviews Amelia Hiller. The Wombats – This Modern Glitch. The Wombats produced the album alongside Rich Costey, Eric Valentine, Butch Walker, and Jacknife Lee. 2 A Guide to Love, Loss & Desperation $9.99 Genre: Alternative Date: 09 July 2007 On their first two albums, the Wombats offered a blend of jumpy indie rock and lovable goof personas, but on their latest, Glitterbug, the sweet silliness has dissipated. ” frontman Matthew Murphy sings, adding a surreal twist to a toxic relationship. Pitchfork is the most trusted voice in music. At their worst, they degenerate into sleaze, delivering lines like "There‘s no greater sight than you in your underwear removing mine.". Pre-Review. There’s nothing groundbreaking here, but little to be ashamed of either. ), if you were into the "post-punk/new wave revival" of music that came out of the UK and flashed briefly in the early 2000s (Franz Ferdinand, Bloc Party, Maximo Park, The Futureheads) the Wombats are like those bands but before the hangover, with enough sauce in them to make the tongue sharp and the … Genres: Indie Rock, Indie Pop, Synthpop. The Wombats. Ultimately, it's this kind of life-is-short pop energy, imbued with Murphy's well-curated sense of time and place, that helps elevate the Wombats' Glitterbug from just a one-crazy-night soundtrack to an album that might stick with you for years to come. And when a car company inevitably co-opts one of the songs for a commercial, those in the know can quietly laugh at the wild disconnect with the subject matter. I discovered this thanks to a YouTube channel called Spectrum Pulse claiming it as one of the best albums of 2015 and I agree. 2018 release, the fourth studio album from the British alt-rock band. ‘A Guide To Love…’ and its 2011 follow-up ‘This Modern Glitch’ revelled in the absurd, and come this album’s second track, ‘Lemon To A Knife Fight’, they’re at it again: “I’m unhinged and you’re undone / I’m not getting out of here alive / I brought a lemon to a knife fight,” frontman Matthew Murphy sings, adding a surreal twist to a toxic relationship. Their follow-up, 2011’s This Modern Glitch, followed suit. Read our Album Reviews Q&A with The Wombats. The Wombats discography and songs: Music profile for The Wombats, formed 2003. The band released their debut extended play (EP), Girls, Boys and Marsupials in Japan through an independent record label in September 2006. Singles. Now Murph, Dan and Tord are back to stoke the flames with ‘Beautiful People Will Ruin Your Life’. 1 Glitterbug (Deluxe Version) $9.99 Genre: Alternative Date: 14 April 2015. by Chris Coplan. Limited clear vinyl LP pressing. And the Wombats are seemingly pulling out all the stops to be gigantic. READ MORE: The Wombats’ Murph talks new “turbo-personal” Love Fame Tragedy album and the future of the band The reworking of the track was uploaded to … The defining moment of the album comes when all the instruments drop out of "Give Me a Try" and Murphy proclaims, "We could be gigantic!" On their first two albums, the Wombats offered a blend of jumpy indie rock and lovable goof personas, but on their latest, Glitterbug, the sweet silliness has dissipated. Opener ‘Cheetah Tongue’ is a psych-rock belter that will feel right at home at your nearest festival main stage. When the Wombats first suggested "Let’s Dance to Joy Division" on A Guide to Love, Loss & Desperation, their 2007 debut, they came on strong with a blend of jumpy indie rock and lovable goof personas. Album Review: The Wombats – Beautiful People Will Ruin Your Life. Festival Review: Leeds 2019. Glitterbug isn’t a bad album, especially if you are a Wombats fan, it still has the same feel as This Modern Glitch, which was released 4 years ago, and that caused a bit of a problem with me. But what sets the Wombats apart from those acts is the lechery and squalor just beneath the surface. on April 15, 2011, 7:58am. When they’re good, they’re OK. Since that debut, their instrumentation has slid more and more overtly towards the 1980s, but they have been as proficient lyrically with each new release. There’s no "The Wombats Proudly Present" as a subtitle to Glitterbug, as there was for the first two releases. This Modern Glitch. Here, they pull out all the stops to become gigantic, packing their songs with anthemic hooks and synth pulses. While the subject ranges from trivial to an integral bone of contention, it is always interesting to see what songs an artist (and/or their label) release as singles. Glitterbug mostly seems like it was born of a frustration of not having made it in the States yet. Perhaps because the Wombats as you knew them aren’t present, and they don’t always seem proud. I’m unhinged and you’re undone / I’m not getting out of here alive / I brought a lemon to a knife fight. Instead of using a number of producers, as they did with their previous two releases, the Wombats recorded most of the tracks at the studio of Mark Crew, who can be credited with fast-tracking Bastille into U.S. arenas. With their streaming numbers on a healthy incline and the venue sizes increasing with each tour, ‘Beautiful People…’ proves that there’s still life in these marsupials yet. And while not sonically reminiscent of 1996 musically (speaking of Smash Mouth? With their new album Beautiful People Will Ruin Your Life on the horizon, the band are ready to embark on a sold out UK tour in March. Many of the synth-tinged songs on Glitterbug would sound right at home on a John Hughes soundtrack, and the album itself plays like a rom-com concept album, chronicling singer and guitarist Matthew Murphy’s long-distance romantic relationship with a girl he began dating in L.A. while he was still based in London ("My head is aching in GMT," he sings in a polite Robert Smith-style pout on "Give Me a Try"). Last album ‘Glitterbug’ landed them at Number Five in 2015 – their highest ever placing – and an upcoming UK tour is eyeing up arenas. In February of 2018, Liverpool, England band The Wombats released Beautiful People Will Ruin Your Life . T here are some bands that hold a truly nostalgic grip on my heart, at present I can’t think of any bands that bring back so many memories as The Wombats. The number of drug references within the lyrics would seem like teenage exaggeration were it not for Murphy’s matter-of-fact delivery. People Will Ruin Your Life sees The Wombats continuing to assert themselves as one of the biggest and best guitar pop sensations of our time. © 2021 NME is a member of the media division of BandLab Technologies. And as with Bastille and other short-haired Euro rockers like Coldplay, Keane and Snow Patrol, there’s a very palatable poppy sheen on all of these tracks: Glitterbug is packed with anthemic hooks and synth pulses that sound like they were composed solely to lure Lexus. The Wombats haven’t half made themselves easy targets, what with the not-terribly-funny funny songs of their 2007 debut album – a record so dated you might expect secondrate standups to … It has sold 126,772 copies in the UK as of April 2015. Following their hugely successful third album, Glitterbug, reaching the top 5 in 2015, The Wombats are back with their most anticipated album to date. Liverpool threesome The Wombats have, since their debut album, 2007’s A Guide to Love, Loss & Desperation, championed both melodic British pop sensibility and whip-smart relationship-centred lyrics. There's still life in these Liverpudlian marsupials. Michael Smith . When they’re bad they’re woeful. In a strange turn of events, The Wombats are somehow bigger than ever. Matthew: Glitterbug was the first album I listened to by The Wombats – which was my favourite until Beautiful People Will Ruin Your Life. The Wombats – Beautiful People Will Ruin Your Life. 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