Ultimately, it's this kind of life-is-short pop energy, imbued with Murphy's well-curated sense of time and place, that helps elevate the Wombats' Glitterbug from just a one-crazy-night soundtrack to an album that might stick with you for years to come.
While their approach is a little aggressive at times, making it a little too much to take in at once, Glitterbug is full of tracks that prove there's no reason not to indulge in it.
Only ‘The English Summer’ and ‘Pink Lemonade’ bear much resemblance to the antsy, fidgety post-punk The Wombats made their name with, and both end up falling somewhat flat. In its place are the sleek, synth-laden likes of ‘Be Your Shadow’ and ‘Headspace’ --precision-engineered for mass appeal, but no less effective for it.
There’s a very palatable poppy sheen on all of these tracks: Glitterbug is packed with anthemic hooks and synth pulses that sound like they were composed solely to lure Lexus.
In all of this, it's not that any one song is outright horrific (okay, 'Pink Lemonade' is pretty unbearable), more that the entire experience is a chore.
Absolute worldie of a record, combining modern pop with the past, rugged indie rock that made me fall in love with the wombats back in 2007.Absolute worldie of a record, combining modern pop with the past, rugged indie rock that made me fall in love with the wombats back in 2007. This album, with its colourful, eventful tracks, appeals to past listeners like myself, and new ones - especially teens. From emoticons, to flowerball, the listener is taken on a trip, beginning with boisterous madness, found in give me a try, Greek tragedy and your body is a weapon, packed with layers of loud, synth filled backings that make you want to get up and dance wherever you are, down to the emotion filled tracks of Isabel and This is not a party, murphey's amazing vocals dominate every track, even in The English Summer, perhaps the song with the biggest "rock" feel, and certainly left me reminiscing about moving to New York and Tokyo in previous albums, his voice grabs you and doesn't let go, you feel a perfect balance of instruments to vocals. All songs that were written to be sung along to and catchy are so (I get the feeling this was not the aim of Isabel) and the morning I listened to the record I found myself humming various tracks throughout the rest of the day. This album is fun, clever, full of witty lyrics and relatable stories/themes, and I'm optimistic for both the wombats and their fans, and hope that one day soon I'll hear them on the radio…Expand
One of my favourite albums to ever be made. Never saw one single person to not like this album, really is the one all of my friends will likeOne of my favourite albums to ever be made. Never saw one single person to not like this album, really is the one all of my friends will like if I play it anywhere, because it matches any vibe.…Expand
This is without question my favorite Wombats album. The band goes full synth pop on this album with some of the most perfectly produced andThis is without question my favorite Wombats album. The band goes full synth pop on this album with some of the most perfectly produced and catchiest songs of the bands entire discography. It's also a bunch of goofy, over-the-top fun like the best Wombats material.…Expand
This album has a pretty strong, if a bit generic start. The first four songs were something I wouldn't mind listening to on a relaxing summerThis album has a pretty strong, if a bit generic start. The first four songs were something I wouldn't mind listening to on a relaxing summer car trip. Then you hit track five and start to feel like you've heard this all before, and by the end you are just numb to it all. Theres no highs and no lows, it's all just a bland "thing" that you loose interest in after the first half concludes. It's almost like this is just a collection of singles thrown together because they had them done over something that is a proper album. Sad too, as I love the overly sweet synth sounds, but it's going to need more then that to keep me engaged.
A structured and well thought out tracklist is very, very important for an album, at least to me. Get a good flow and you’ll keep listenersA structured and well thought out tracklist is very, very important for an album, at least to me. Get a good flow and you’ll keep listeners entertained. That doesn’t happen here at all. Full disclosure, I hadn’t ever heard of this band before Bastille remixed Greek Tragedy, so I can’t really say how this compares to their older stuff and if they’ve had a better flow in an album before, but Glitterbug starts off with four very strong tracks and then just goes downhill without even trying to save itself (Your Body Is A Weapon is the only thing that comes close, but it’s not nearly as good as the four first ones). This is a shame, because Greek Tragedy is quite the jam. I would’ve liked to see an album that reflects how good that track is, but what we get here is just the same over and over again. My default solution then is to shorten it into an EP, but even that doesn’t save it because there is simply no real mood change (the only real slow song, Isabel, is uninspired and yawn-inducing) and the album keeps shoving the same style down your throat, which is utterly boring. The only good thing about this album is that it’s only 39 minutes, although that still feels like an eternity. Sorry Wombats, but this is a real disappointment.…Expand
