Album Review: The Wombats - 'Oh! The Ocean'
Indie Icons The Wombats show no signs of slowing down as they unleash their fantastic sixth album: ‘Oh! The Ocean’.
As a group, The Wombats need no introduction at all. Their incredible longevity and consistent quality of music speaks volumes. Up to this point, the band have five fantastic records to their name. On top of their formidable discography, they have also earned quite the reputation as a live outfit. Their years of relentless touring have led them to this point, where they are undeniably one of the country’s favourite groups.
News of a sixth album, as well as a solid arena tour, was a delight for fans. It’s great to see The Wombats still steaming ahead at full throttle.
The new record, ‘Oh! The Ocean’, boasts some of the band’s best work to date.
The opening three tracks are the singles which the group have put out ahead of the album itself. ‘Sorry I’m Late, I Didn’t Want To Come’ is the designated opener. This one’s a carefully paced track that is dominated by a groovy rhythm section which comes courtesy of bassist Tord Overland Knusden and drummer Dan Haggis. The highlight of the song is the killer chorus, where lead singer Murph shows off his quality. The frontman sings the outrageously catchy lead line: “Sorry I’m late, I didn’t wanna come. It’s not that I hate you, I just hate everyone.” The track is brutally honest and tells an all-too-familiar story for many people, where our social batteries are not quite up to the task of mixing with people.
Immediately following the opener are two much pacier numbers. ‘Can’t Say No’ and ‘Blood On The Hospital Floor’ are both brimming with that classic Wombats buzz that we’ve come to know and love over the years.
The latter of those was shown off at some of the UK’s biggest festivals this past summer, with the Reading crowd- in particular- taking a shine to it. The track is full of energy, with the trio coming together to build suspense in the verses, before they erupt into a frenzy during the choruses. This one is a quintessential Wombats track: it’s one that crowds can go wild for.
The new record comes two years after The Wombats’ last studio outing, where they released their debut UK #1 album ‘Fix Yourself Not the World’. It would be no surprise if the new album achieves similar success, since it is brimming with quality.
One of the most salient tracks from ‘Oh! The Ocean’ is ‘I Love America And She Hates Me’. This one kicks off with a thudding bassline reminiscent of the material found of the group’s 2018 album ‘Beautiful People Will Ruin Your Life’. It’s a hugely anthemic song from the get-go. The commanding rhythm section is topped off by stratospheric vocals of Murph. His lone voice echoes all around every inch of the track as it builds to a huge climax in its choruses.
The choruses in question are nothing short of sublime. The band level up their sound, creating a funky, infectious sound that feels like its built for arenas and stadiums. The Wombats sound enormous. Murph sings: “I Love America and she hates me. Gets all her pleasure from smothering my dreams. And all my fear just keeps her fed, and I’ll love America ‘til the bullet’s in my head.” As he dishes out these conflicting feelings, the rest of the group use their instruments to muster up a sound that demands crowds to bounce and lose themselves.
The track is adventurous, yet full of confidence. The Wombats seem to be having real fun with this one. They know no constraints, and their persistence in the music scene is shown off in every moment of ‘I Love America And She Hates Me’.
The Wombats don’t take their foot off the gas at any point during the new record. The final three tracks: ‘Reality Is A Wild Ride’, ‘Swerve (101)’ and ‘Lobster’ are fantastic.
‘Swerve (101)’ is particularly strong. This one shows off the band’s diverse capabilities to create a range of music. The verses are extremely suspenseful, with a wriggling guitar riff leading the way to the track’s choruses.
When The Wombats arrive at their choruses, they come together to create sound which is nothing short of triumphant. In an instant, we are taken from suspense to all-out ascendancy. Murph belts out the words: “Everything I enjoy becomes an obsession until I destroy. Do I have to say it out loud, I’m too young and too old to figure it out.”
The music feels so confident and proud, yet Murph sings words of real fragility.
His brutal honesty is beautiful and is perfect when paired with the grand music.
The Wombats the close out the record in style, with ‘Lobster’: a track that oozes coolness. It has a real swagger, driven by funky instrumentation and a vocal performance that conforms to no rules. Murph shows off what he can do as he- and the rest of the band- see out a fantastic record.
‘Oh! The Ocean’ is home to some of the best material that we’ve ever heard from The Wombats. It’s truly admirable to see a group keep on producing the highest quality music, even after many years on the scene. This is testament to the band’s quality.
Fans will hope to catch some of the new material as The Wombats embark on a run of arena shows, before they return to their home of Liverpool for a huge show on the waterfront.
Words by Matthew Caslin
