The Wombats - 'Proudly Present...This Modern Glitch' (14th Floor) Released: 25/04/11

Back for a second bite at the cherry, cheeky Liverpool lads The Wombats return with new album ‘This Modern Glitch’. Full of emotional ups and downs, and a tad bit more serious than their happy-go-lucky debut, ‘A Guide To Love, Loss & Desperation’, this is easily a more mature offering from the indie threesome. Having already admitted many different influences affected the way in which this album was made, whether it was Kraftwerk – which can be heard on the electronically confident ‘1996’, or a band they listen to on the regular, Phoenix, this LP is an experimental mash up of numerous instrumental delights.
 
Currently experiencing their highest amount of radio spins to date, courtesy of the hits ‘Jump Into The Fog’ and ‘Tokyo (Vampires And Wolves)’ – which stands out as an album favourite thanks in part to its catchy chorus and obvious dance floor appeal, Murph, Dan and Tord seem to be enjoying themselves on this go-round. Take for example the self-sacrificing ‘Techno Fan’. Admitting that he’s not normally in to the kind of music that the song’s love interest seems to be, Murph sings, “She said I should come over, though the music’s not my type/ Don’t you know I’d chop a limb off just to have a good time.” Comical and yet so true for so many gents, the track helps to prove that guys really will do anything to get in a girl pants.

Featuring Dave Navarro on electric guitar, ‘Girls/Fast Cars’ is a look at the ignorant side of the male persona. Drum heavy and evidentially harder than the album’s previous cuts, there’s an air of arrogance that actually makes it that much better. Not one to beat around the bush, lines like, “I like girls, girls and fast cars, it’s cheap and it’s pathetic but you can’t hate me just because,” and, “We don’t care for romance, romance or shooting stars/ They were last found together in 18th century memoirs,” aid the listener in feeling like someone who can do whatever the hell they like.

Mostly recorded in L.A., the likes of Rich Costey (of Muse fame), TV On The Radio’s Dave Sitek, and John Hill (Santogold, M.I.A., Devo) all pitch in when it comes to production and recording duties, while the band themselves produce a few tracks also – ‘Techno Fan’, and ‘Anti-D’ with Jacknife Lee (U2, R.E.M.). Speaking of ‘Anti-D’, the writing on this particular track is intensely honest and shows another side to the band’s talents. Having experienced issues with depression and addiction to anti-depressants, frontman Murph goes deep and lays his self-destructive mindset down over a calmly played string backdrop.

The only problem with the album is that it’s too damn short. Obviously going for the concise route, as a listener you feel like you’re just about to get in to the heart of it, and then it ends.