Description

The Wombats follow their Top 5 album This Modern Glitch with the release of their third full-length Glitterbug via 14th Floor Records / Warner Bros. Records. Already named as Zane Lowes Hottest Record, the albums lead single Greek Tragedy was accompanied by a darkly compelling video in which one young fan takes her obsession with the band to disturbing extremes. Produced by Mark Crew (Bastille) and The Wombats frontman Matthew Murph Murphy, bassist Tord Øverland Knudsen and drummer Dan Haggis the albums themes were inspired by core songwriter Murphs experiences in Los Angeles. Drawn to the citys mix of opulence and anxiety, his songwriting for the album focused upon the idea of writing about a tumultuous relationship with a fictional woman from Los Angeles. That became the main inspiration for most of the songs, this false world that Id created for myself, he explains. As time progressed, Id go to L.A. more and more, and the idea kept on building.

The albums about the envy and the struggle and the pretence and the worry and the fear that L.A. and every major city in the world encompasses. Approximately halfway through the writing process, events conspired to curve full-circle from fiction into fact when Murph started dating a seemingly unattainable woman from the city. And so imaginary stories evolved into real life concerns: the fading embers of his relationship back in London and the challenges of maintaining a long distance relationship. Instrumentally, most of the songs took one of two directions: back in Liverpool, bassist Tord and drummer Dans rush of creativity would result in them delivering backing tracks as a foundation for Murph to then build upon in L.A. or London; alternatively Murph would develop the essence of a song on guitar or piano for the band to collectively flesh out. Despite the initial geographic displacement of the trio, subsequent sessions at Mark Crews London studio demonstrated that The Wombats inter-band dynamics are as strong as ever before. Greek Tragedy floats an East Asian-infused synth riff over booming, distorted drum beats, while another immediate stand-out, the uplifting Give Me A Try (inspired by Murphs blossoming new relationship) represents the bands most positive lyric to date. Other highlights include the elastic bass and pulsating disco rhythm that permeates throughout Be Your Shadow; the almost unrecognisably different Emoticons; and This is Not A Party which addresses Murphs swing from celebratory hedonism to a borderline existential crisis over the course of some fairly sizeable nights out in the summer of 2013. Glitterbug also features Your Body Is A Weapon, which was originally released as a free download for the bands devoted fanbase. Premiered by Zane Lowe at Radio 1 and later included in his 100 Hottest Records of the Year, the track demonstrated their continuing popularity with over 2 million plays split between YouTube and SoundCloud.

This Modern Glitch saw The Wombats build on the initial success of their debut album as it became their highest charting album as it debuted at #3 in the UK. It also became their biggest international album to date most notably in Australia where it peaked at #2 as it reached Platinum status. In addition, This Modern Glitch also launched some of their most popular singles so far such as Techno Fan, Tokyo (Vampires and Wolves), Jump Into The Fog (a Top 10 hit on Billboards Alternative Songs charts) and Anti-D. They subsequently headlined Lovebox and Wakestock, and were also a highlight of numerous other festivals including Glastonbury, V, Radio 1s Big Weekend and Rockness, as well as a packed tent at Coachella and an arena tour of Australia. The Wombats recently announced a series of UK live dates in April as part of a wider European tour that encompasses shows in a further ten countries: