Opening with the silly harmonies of ‘Girls, Boys and Marsupials’, The Wombats quickly identify themselves as a band who don’t take themselves too serious. Their chirpy indie pop is an escape from reality, to a crazy happy place where all your worries can be forgotten with some oohs, aahs and a spritely beat. Lyrically, The Wombats offer more of an understanding approach to getting over your emo feelings – the likes of ‘Kill The Director’ and ‘School Uniforms’ paint a pretty bleak picture of The Wombats’ love lives, and if all those whining demi-goth Americans hadn’t stolen the ’emo’ tag, it’d have been The Wombats’ for the taking. Songs like ‘Moving To New York’ and ‘Dr Suzanne Mattox PHD’ are musically so fun, even though they seem to be addressing the feelings of a pretty troubled soul!
Given the musical nature of the album, if love, loss and desperation were the common cold, The Wombats would be a hot ribena, a blanket and a big box of tissues (don’t ask us who’s who!). This album is a gem, so long as you’re partial to a bit of a musical and lyrical juxtaposition and don’t find Matthew Murphy’s sometimes squeaky vocals wearing.
