Sunday 24 April 2011

Album Review: The Wombats Proudly Present... This Modern Glitch



The Wombats have returned, after four years absence from our airwaves, with their 2nd album titled This Modern Glitch. It is another offering of pop-laden and catchy songs, similar to debut  release A Guide to Loss, Love and Desperation. But this time, the boys have added in numerous synths in most tracks, as well as a more serious tone with the lyrics. The latter is mainly due to singer Matthew Murphy's struggle with drug and wieght issues in the past couple of years because of the heavy touring schedule of the first album taking a massive toll. The question is, have The Wombats fallen to the curse of the second album, or does this release continue their quick rise to the top of the indie stratosphere.

Opener, Our Perfect Disease, starts out with none of the usual dancy and fun-loving elements of previous offerings. Instead Murphy sings over the top of a solitary synth before the songs builds up to an uplifting chorus with the lyrics of 'It was the perfect disease we had, who do I see about contracting it back?'. The usual backing 'Woos' are provided by bassest Tord Ă˜verland-Knudsen and drummer Dan Haggis. Next up are the hit singles Tokyo (Vampires and Wolves) and Jump Into the Fog which have gained significant radio airplay over the last few months. These tracks see a return to the fun-loving and beat heavy tracks that the Bats are renowed for.

Anti-D is the probably the most interesting track on the album, with a string section introduced over the top of a slow moving ballad. This however, makes it no less catchy with the resounding chorus of 'Please allow me to be your anti-depressant' building up to an epic sound throughout the song fueling by Muphy's heart-felt lyrics and the beautiful string arrangements underneath.

From here on the album is filled with much of the same, with new single Techno Fan and 1996 leaving off from where Tokyo started with much of the same synth sounds along with the customary 'Woos'. However, there are some sub-standard filler tracks such as Walking Disasters and Girls/Fast Cars giving the listener some pretty forgettable moments, with the synth trend starting to get monotonous after a while. But closer Schumacher the Champagne returns toe traditional Wombats sounds we are used to with the traditional guitar/bass/drums combo driving the song.

Overall, although This Modern Glitch features a slightly different direction for the band with the introduction of some interesting new sounds, it still retains many of the catchy and poppy elements from the band's first long-player that fans have fallen in love with. As Murphy somes up on the closing track, "Take  me as I am or not at all!", The Wombats have taken a slight risk on this album. But the maturity they have brought to it has seen them produce an impressive effort that will see old and new fans alike, definately taking to them with all they can.

9/10

Visit thewombats.co.uk for more information