The Wombats

British indie rock trio the Wombats make driving post-punk and new wave-influenced pop marked by their cheeky, satirically sharp-tongued point of view. The band initially broke through with their 2007 debut album, A Guide to Love, Loss & Desperation, which hit the Top 20 in the U.K. They have continued to mature, balancing chart success with artful productions like 2011's This Modern Glitch, 2015's Glitterbug, and 2018's Beautiful People Will Ruin Your Life, each of which reached the Top Five on the U.K. albums chart. In 2022, they reached number one in the U.K. with their fifth studio album, Fix Yourself, Not the World. "Sorry I'm Late, I Didn't Want to Come" heralded 2025's Oh! The Ocean. Formed in Liverpool in 2003 while the members were all attending the Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts, the Wombats feature vocalist/guitarist Matthew Murphy, drummer Dan Haggis, and Norwegian-born bassist Tord Øverland-Knudsen. In 2006, the band released their debut single, the Japan-only "Girls, Boys and Marsupials." Several singles followed before the release of the group's 2007 debut album, A Guide to Love, Loss & Desperation, which reached number 11 on the U.K. album chart. A year later, they issued the Wombats EP on Bright Antenna. The Wombats' sophomore long-player, This Modern Glitch, appeared in 2011 and featured production from such modern rock stalwarts as Eric Valentine, Butch Walker, and Jacknife Lee. Included on the album was the Top 40 single "Tokyo (Vampires & Wolves)." In 2015, the group returned with their third full-length album, the synth-heavy Glitterbug, which featured production from Mark Crew and included the singles "Greek Tragedy" and "Give Me a Try." Somewhat of a breakout, the release was a commercial success in the U.K. and Australia, and marked the band's first chart entry in the U.S. In December 2017, the Wombats released "Turn," the first single from their fourth LP, 2018's Beautiful People Will Ruin Your Life. Produced by Mark Crew (Bastille, Rationale) and Catherine Marks (the Killers, Wolf Alice), the album also included the singles "Lemon to a Knife Fight" and "Cheetah Tongue." The set peaked at number three in the U.K. and hit the Billboard 200. In August 2018, the Wombats issued an extended version of Beautiful People Will Ruin Your Life, which added the single "Bee-Sting" as well as the album track "Oceans" and an acoustic version of "Lethal Combination." Lead singer Murphy then took a break from the group to work on his solo project Love Fame Tragedy, releasing Wherever I Go, I Want to Leave in 2020. In May 2021, the Wombats returned with the song "Method to the Madness," the first track released off their fifth studio LP, Fix Yourself, Not the World. The album arrived in January 2022 and featured production by longtime associate Jacknife Lee, as well as Mike Crossey, Gabe Simon, and others. It topped the U.K. Albums chart and was followed that November by the Is This What It Feels Like to Feel Like This? EP. A single, "Sorry I'm Late, I Didn't Want to Come," arrived in October 2024 as the first track off the group's sixth studio album, 2025's Oh! The Ocean.
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