Rather than doing bog standard album reviews on here, I thought it’d be interesting to do mini opinions on an album track by track upon my first listen of it. I have listened to a few of the songs from The Wombats’ brand new release Beautiful People Will Ruin Your Life, but decided to hold off and give my first impressions to the rest of the record. In future, I will ideally have not listened to any of an album when doing this to make my reaction more authentic, but let me off this time.
Track 1 - Cheetah Tongue
As an opener, this song is pretty strong. The opening guitar strumming as the song commences oozes with anticipation as the album kicks off. Lyrically, it’s just as whacky as any previous Wombats number; ‘you run me over/my orange colour got black flamingos/crying for you’ being a prime example. Overall, it’s a chilled start, with lots of ‘oohing’ and floaty high pitched singing, accompanied by equally chilled but impressive guitar riffing - not a bad start at all.
Track 2 - Lemon to a Knife Fight
This song was a pre-released single before the album, so many, including myself have heard this a few times prior to the album release. Being their choice for the first single, it would be relevant to suggest that the band think highly of this one. I enjoy the mix of acoustic guitar strumming and the odd electric riff thrown in, and I’ll admit that the chorus is catchy - I think this will do well when played live. Again, I have no idea what the lyrics are on about, but I’ll trust that there’s some deeper meaning behind why on earth you would bring a lemon to a knife fight to which I am unaware of. I’m not sure if this was single worthy but it is by no means a bad tune.
Track 3 - Turn
Yet more quintessential Wombats ‘oohing’ is what you can you expect from this one. There’s not much for me to say other than that in my opinion. Again, the chorus is catchy enough that it’ll do well on live performances undoubtedly, but other than that, this tune doesn’t really stick out for me - soz boys.
Track 4 - Black Flamingo
This is the first track that I’m really bopping to from a first impression (skipping over the fact that every song so far has had oohing in it and again this one does lol). Nothing says catchy like repetition in the chorus, and ‘I wanna love you but it hurts hurts hurts’ is a perfect example. I really like this one, very cheery and upbeat, and yes there is yet more oohing, but the cool effects they’ve put over said oohing makes this one stick out from the crowd thus far in the album. The bridge before the final chorus is also really cool-sounding for a reason I can’t really explain. Big fan.
Track 5 - White Eyes
I really don’t want to be a savage here, but again this is an ‘okay’ one. It’s rare that a banger would be placed right in the middle of the track list which is where this is placed. It’s definitely consistent with the rest of the album’s sound which is good, and I enjoy the guitar in ther verses as I think it’s very Arctic Monkeys Suck It And See-esque. Other than that, nothing stands out in this one for me.
Track 6 - Lethal Combination
This was another pre-album song that was dropped a few weeks ago to my knowledge, again suggesting that this was chosen by the band as a standout track. The verses are very steady and melodic, with lead Matthew Murphy’s singing practically turning into talking at some points, and the chorus is surprisingly dreamy and chilled out for a song evidently about a couple who love nights out a bit too much. The lyrics are painfully relatable to anyone who’s had a regrettable drunken night out, so this is sure to go down well with their mostly young teen fan base.
Track 7 - Out of My Head
As I hear this song kick in for the first time I would argue that this is the first to stray away from the overall sound of the album so far. I’m terrible at describing genres but I’d say this definitely has more of a disco/electro style than the others. I’m especially fond of the final chorus’ key change, making it sound more epic, and the bass riff throughout is also really cool.
Track 8 - I Only Wear Black
Just from the title and opening refrain of this track I’m relating very hard to this tune, being a lover of black clothes myself. However, other than the relatable lyrics, I find this one a bit whiny for my taste, perhaps caused by the drawn out singing of Matthew every time he says chants the word ‘black’. This isn’t a standout on the tracklist for me.
Track 9 - Ice Cream
This particular track is immediately one of the more fast-paced songs of the album by the sound of the verses. Other than this slight change, it is again very in keeping with the general sound of the entire album, which by this late point in my listening is quite evident. It again isn’t a standout for me but I do enjoy the distortion that occasionally crops up in the singing, and the ‘ice cream in the sun’ lyric that is repeated throughout begins to make the song very catchy as it progresses.
Track 10 - Dip You in Honey
This is surprisingly the first track of the album that I would equate to a love song style. The lyrics are sweet (no pun intended) and heartfelt, and the sound immediately makes me feel very summery - I can imagine it would do well as a single at that time of year. I’d say that the album is largely filled with quite negative motifs lyrically so it is nice to see a more positive twist as the album comes to a close.
Track 11 - I Don’t Know Why I Like You
And so, we reach the final track of the album. Lyrically, this track makes sense to close the album for me, and relates very much so to the album title - themes of a confusing love life seeming to be an obvious theme to pick up on. I definitely think that guitar wise, they have ended the album with some very epic sounding riffing - especially in the section before the bridge and throughout the final chorus, which is the most electric the guitars have sounded in the entire album, which I am definitely a fan of. It is not the most spectacular ending to an album but I think it nicely rounds of the reoccurring themes of the track list, and showcases the musical talent, both in the case of the singing, and the instrument playing. Not a bad ending at all.
Final thoughts:
Listening to this album track by track was definitely interesting, and on the whole I enjoyed it. I would say that this is an album of some standout tracks, rather than a consistently good and cohesive masterpiece. There are highs and lows, but it is very evident how much work and dedication that has contributed to the final cut of the tracks. The sound is consistent throughout whilst not being boring or repetitive, and I can definitely see that a lot of the songs will do great in live performances, which is what so many people know the band for primarily.
I really hope you enjoyed this style pot review and will continue to do so with other new releases if people would like it.
Thanks for reading dudes
H x
Track 7 - Out of My Head
As I hear this song kick in for the first time I would argue that this is the first to stray away from the overall sound of the album so far. I’m terrible at describing genres but I’d say this definitely has more of a disco/electro style than the others. I’m especially fond of the final chorus’ key change, making it sound more epic, and the bass riff throughout is also really cool.
Track 8 - I Only Wear Black
Just from the title and opening refrain of this track I’m relating very hard to this tune, being a lover of black clothes myself. However, other than the relatable lyrics, I find this one a bit whiny for my taste, perhaps caused by the drawn out singing of Matthew every time he says chants the word ‘black’. This isn’t a standout on the tracklist for me.
Track 9 - Ice Cream
This particular track is immediately one of the more fast-paced songs of the album by the sound of the verses. Other than this slight change, it is again very in keeping with the general sound of the entire album, which by this late point in my listening is quite evident. It again isn’t a standout for me but I do enjoy the distortion that occasionally crops up in the singing, and the ‘ice cream in the sun’ lyric that is repeated throughout begins to make the song very catchy as it progresses.
Track 10 - Dip You in Honey
This is surprisingly the first track of the album that I would equate to a love song style. The lyrics are sweet (no pun intended) and heartfelt, and the sound immediately makes me feel very summery - I can imagine it would do well as a single at that time of year. I’d say that the album is largely filled with quite negative motifs lyrically so it is nice to see a more positive twist as the album comes to a close.
Track 11 - I Don’t Know Why I Like You
And so, we reach the final track of the album. Lyrically, this track makes sense to close the album for me, and relates very much so to the album title - themes of a confusing love life seeming to be an obvious theme to pick up on. I definitely think that guitar wise, they have ended the album with some very epic sounding riffing - especially in the section before the bridge and throughout the final chorus, which is the most electric the guitars have sounded in the entire album, which I am definitely a fan of. It is not the most spectacular ending to an album but I think it nicely rounds of the reoccurring themes of the track list, and showcases the musical talent, both in the case of the singing, and the instrument playing. Not a bad ending at all.
Final thoughts:
Listening to this album track by track was definitely interesting, and on the whole I enjoyed it. I would say that this is an album of some standout tracks, rather than a consistently good and cohesive masterpiece. There are highs and lows, but it is very evident how much work and dedication that has contributed to the final cut of the tracks. The sound is consistent throughout whilst not being boring or repetitive, and I can definitely see that a lot of the songs will do great in live performances, which is what so many people know the band for primarily.
I really hope you enjoyed this style pot review and will continue to do so with other new releases if people would like it.
Thanks for reading dudes
H x
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