Brits are not quite sure what to make of its latest animal act, Liverpool’s The Wombats. Featured on last week’s NME cover, the band has elicited its equal share of disdain and love. Ever since The Arctic Monkeys’ hit “I Bet You Look Good On The Dance Floor,” there seems to be an increasing focus on, as the NME cover calls it, the “indie dancefloor.” This is music to move to, just as Little Man Tate brought us the unforgettable singles “Sexy in Latin” and “House Party at Boothy’s.”
The Wombats are quirkier and probably even more interested in simple, hook-laden pop that stays clear of sounding at all manufactured. How many bands would begin their debut album, The Wombats Proudly Present… A Guide To Love, Loss and Desperation, with an a cappella song called “Tales of Girls, Boys & Marsupials?” The song sets the stage for an album’s worth of material about romantic tiffs with titles such as “Kill the Director,” (check the linked video) “Backfire at the Disco,” “Patricia the Stripper,” “Little Miss Pipedream,” and “Dr. Suzanne Mattox, PhD.” The last song, an ode to a general practitioner believed to have interest beyond the examining room, includes the repeating chorus, “Help me Suzanne, help help me Suzanne!” Let me be clear. These are ridiculously catchy songs, and much like The Kooks, the band is able to not take themselves seriously in the least without crossing that fine line into cloying or annoying.
It’s hard to just pick one song of this album to post, but I think “Let’s Dance to Joy Division” is appropriate given my musings. The band’s album was released last fall in the UK, but I’m not certain when a release will be slated for the States. No doubt, when it is, we’ll hopefully be blessed with a full tour (aside from limited dates ahead for SXSW in Austin and NYC). By that time though, there might be little room on this indie dancefloor.
The Wombats, “Lets Dance to Joy Division”
LIMITED TIME BONUS: A cappella “Tales of Girls, Boy & Marsupials” for Jason.
Hear more songs at Myspace…
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