The Wombats' angsty new album is reminiscent of past works

The Wombats' music has always been filled with angst. The band, created in Liverpool, fills their songs with frantic beats while lead singer and guitarist, Matt Murphy, packs his lyrics with how he feels, frequently coming across with disgust. Their first album from 2007, A Guide to Love, Loss & Desperation, is filled with pounding drums. It gives the songs a young, angst-filled sound.

While The Wombats' songs have evolved and aged to slightly more pop-y and synth sound, their new album, Beautiful People Will Ruin Your Life, still has that angsty, love-lorn feel that sticks to their roots of sadness and misery.

The album feels very familiar to past works which is not a bad thing. With upbeat danceable songs with slightly cynical, dysfunctional lyrics, it reminds me of their previous album, Glitterbug, but feels like a slightly more polished version. The opening guitar riff has a beat that feels like a heart pulsing; it pushes the opening song, “Cheetah Tongue,” into a pounding second chorus. The song pulses with energy, and while it’s less chaotic than their older music, the punches of the beat hit like body blows.

The energy of the opening number is kept up with the next two songs: “Lemon to a Knife Fight” and “Turn.” While less beat-driven, the songs’ lyrics highlight the dysfunctional love that is sweet, painful and always a theme with The Wombats. (The lyrics “You could give an aspirin the headache of its life” from “Turn” is great for the thought alone.)

The album remained solid after its strong start. While I don’t think the remaining tracks reach the heights of the first three songs, they vary in tone and pace. The chorus of “White Eyes” hits harder with its moving backing vocals, adding to the desperation in the song.

The album ends on a good note with “Ice Cream” and “Dip You in Honey.” The deliberately slow chorus is punctuated with a deep guitar riff that contrasts the speed of the song’s lighter chords. The final track is probably the best-named on the album: “I Don’t Know Why I Like You but I Do.” Its slower pace is refreshing, but it made me want the album to end sooner.

Overall, the album is a good return for The Wombats. While, nostalgically, I love the more punk sound of their earlier albums, this one is fun and has a sufficient amount of their earlier elements, along with more elevated pop sounds that add smoothness. Although I didn’t like Beautiful People Will Ruin Your Life as much as Glitterbug, the record is perfect for us annoyed, stressed college kids.

Grade: B+