(Single from album, title TBA)
Sporting a video that would make anyone (but most importantly, a-Ha) cry, the Wombats have returned, and valiantly if I might say so; this brand spanking new, just-sub-4-minute offering is the first taster of what’s to come and it’s not at all bad actually. I found myself veering away from the band in the past, with the overtly Hispter title of “Let’s Dance To Joy Division” aggravating my sensibilities somewhat. This, however, is a far cry from the attention seeking antics of that early single; sounding hopelessly like matured Hoosiers, the band crash through the roadblock of a two-year musical void with drum crashes, the affirming thud of a bass guitar and the party pulse of a synthesiser, topped with the marzipan mastery of a reverberating, Two Door Cinema Club style high-end noodle. Matthew Murphy’s Liverpudlian drool quickly begins leaking lyrical lulls of pretentious prosody, and though the words are nothing of particular philosophical pull, they culminate neatly in a chorus that features crisp production and Franz Ferdinand-like distortion on the vocals and instruments.
The band are also constantly borrowing from the biggest indie rock acts of the last three decades, a trait perhaps most notable as title refrain of ‘ your body is a weapon, it makes me want to cry’ is snarled, a lyrical hook you expect to find lurking in the chorus of a Smiths song. On top of that, an odd harpsichord-like middle-eight and suitably juxtaposed crunchy guitar solo follow – and yet the Wombats’ sound is still, strangely, one you’d expect to find filling dance-floors near and far, raiding the airwaves and shooting up the charts, rather than exclusively financing the emotional trauma of teenage bus journeys. Its upbeat quality grabs my attention immediately and I think its really rather commendable that the sound can exist so fervently, and without getting glum. Whilst you can’t escape the feeling that the band are just well-listened and simply borrowing from left, right and centre, you have to take a step back, realise that everyone does this, even the bands you hold dearest - merit the Wombats instead, for having such obviously fantastic taste and keeping it toe-tapping.
★★★★
Versions of "Your Body Is A Weapon"
Album/Single Version - 3:59