Four years after the release of debut album A Guide To Love, Loss & Desperation, The Wombats return with the long awaited follow up. A four year gap between first and second albums may have put a serious dint in career prospects for many bands, but considering the four singles off their debut became instant indie dancefloor fillers it was clear that The Wombats had struck a particular chord with their audience.
At first blush, it would appear that The Wombats’ front man Matthew Murphy has been listening to a lot of New Order and Depeche Mode, with the washes of synths and drum machines in ‘Our Perfect Disease’ and ‘Anti-D’ augmenting the band’s standard three piece guitar band line up. Unlike last year’s lead single ‘Tokyo (Vampires & Wolves), the album largely sees them still sticking to their poptastic roots, and it isn’t a vast departure from the sound that led to them being played to death on Triple J in Australia and tours selling out at the drop of a hat.
The insanely catchy choruses of their debut aren’t immediately apparent – this is much more reflective record, with songwriter Murphy lamenting his stint on anti-depressants. Indeed a melancholic air underpins the while album, and it’ll be interesting to see if the fans have similarly grown up along with Murphy and are just as capable of reflection.
– Jim Murray
