The Wombats mark the next chapter in their ever-evolving success story today with the release of their fifth studio album Fix Yourself, Not The World, out now via AWAL. The album was included in Vulture Magazine‘s “33 Albums We Can’t Wait to Hear in 2022” and Inside Hook’s “The Best Movies, TV,Books and Music for January.” Associated Press name-checked it as a
notable release and Stereogum picked it as their album of the week. The LP includes “If You Ever Leave, I’m Coming With You” which is the #1 most played song at AltNation and #7 on their top 18 countdown and “Everything I Love Is Going To Die,” which hit #3 at AltNation. New single “This Car Drives All By Itself,” is also out today with a playfully fitting video. The three piece will be playing songs from the album, as well as hits from their celebrated catalogue on their headline US tour which kicks off next Thursday, January 20.
Recording remotely from their respective homes, the band have been working hard to produce some of the most captivating, inventive and forward-thinking music of their career to date. With frontman Matthew “Murph” Murphy in Los Angeles, bassist Tord Øverland Knudsen in Oslo and drummer Dan Haggis in London, they discussed each day’s plan via Zoom, then recorded separately, sending individual files to producers Jacknife Lee (U2, The Killers), Gabe Simon (Dua Lipa, Lana Del Rey), Paul Meaney (Twenty One Pilots, Nothing But Thieves), Mark Crew (Bastille, Rag‘n’Bone Man) and Mike Crossey (The 1975, The War on Drugs, Yungblud) to mix into the finished tracks. “It was pure madness, to be honest,” explains Murph. See the eboydesigned album artwork below.
“We’re so excited for people to hear this new album! We’ve explored new genres and pushed ourselves further than ever musically. It will always stand out for us in our memories from our other albums as we recorded it across three cities during lockdown, and we weren’t all in the same room at the same time!” says Dan Haggis.
New single “This Car Drives All By Itself” is also out today. A melting pot of space pop, acid house, Talking Heads and gang chant punk, the infectious track is a metaphor for coming to terms with humanity’s helplessness. The metaphor is brought to life by the hilarious accompanying video, which sees the band frantically racing around a scalextric track in cars controlled by children. “The song’s about how maybe we’re not as in control of our lives as we think we are, and that time and entropy are pretty powerful things. We row but the universe steers, and I want to learn to be ok with that. It all just came together and I’m so proud of how it turned out,” Murph explains.
Over 15 years into their career, The Wombats are pulling in bigger audiences than ever before. The viral success of Oliver Nelson’s remix of their 2015 hit “Greek Tragedy” on TikTok has enraptured a whole new generation of fans, a feat they’ve managed to continually repeat since their 2007 debut A Guide To Love, Loss & Desperation. Used in over 600,000 videos (some of which have over 100 million views), the remix has rocketed to over 50 million streams, propelling the original to 140 million streams and sending it Gold in the US. It’s helped the band surpass 1.5 billion worldwide streams, also amassing an extra 2.5 million monthly listeners on Spotify in just 6 months; further illustration, if any were needed, of The Wombats’ ability to reach new generations of fans through the timeless power of their songwriting and lyrics alone.
Fix Yourself, Not The World is already being lauded by fans and critics alike, the most exciting chapter in the story of one of Britain’s most adored bands is well and truly underway.
North American Dates:
January 20 – 9:30 Club, Washington, DC
January 21 – 9:30 Club, Washington, DC
January 22 – The Fillmore, Philadelphia, PA
January 25 – Terminal 5, New York, NY
January 26 – House of Blues, Boston, MA
January 28 – Empire Live – Albany, NY
January 29 – Ovation – Newport, KY
January 31 – St. Andrew’s, Detroit, MI
February 1 – Newport, Columbus, OH
February 3 – Park West, Chicago, IL
February 4 – The Fillmore, Minneapolis, MN
February 5 – The Truman, Kansas City, MO
February 7 – Cannery, Nashville, TN
February 8 – Buckhead, Atlanta, GA
February 10 – House of Blues, Houston, TX
February 11 – Emo’s, Austin, TX
February 12 – House of Blues, Dallas, TX
February 14 – Ogden, Denver, CO
February 15 – Union, Salt Lake City, UT
February 17 – Showbox Market, Seattle, WA SOLD OUT
February 19 – Revolution Hall, Portland, OR
February 21 – The Regency, San Francisco, CA
February 22 – The Observatory, Santa Ana, CA
February 25 – The Wiltern, Los Angeles, CA
European/UK Tour Dates:
April 14 – First Direct Arena, Leeds
April 15 – The O2, London
April 16 – Motorpoint Arena, Cardiff
April 18 – Barrowland Ballroom, Glasgow
April 22 – Mountford Hall, Liverpool
April 23 – Mountford Hall, Liverpool
April 29 – La Machine Du Moulin Rouge, Paris (France)
May 1 – Carlswerk Victoria, Cologne (Germany)
May 2 – Übel & Gefährlich, Hamburg (Germany)
May 4 – Slaktkyrkan, Stockholm (Sweden)
May 5 – Rockefeller Music Hall, Oslo (Norway)
May 6 – DR Koncerthuset, Copenhagen (Denmark)
May 7 – Huxley’s Neue Welt, Berlin (Germany)
May 9 – Gasometer, Vienna (Austria)
May 10 – Backstage Werk, Munich (Germany)
May 12 – Estragon, Bologna (Italy)
May 13 – Fabrique, Milan (Italy)
May 14 – Komplex 457, Zurich (Switzerland)
May 16 – De Roma, Antwerp (Belgium)
May 17 – Paradiso, Amsterdam (Netherlands)
May 18 – De Oosterpoort, Groningen (Netherlands)
May 19 – TivoliVredenburg, Utrecht (Netherlands)
May 26 – Open Air Theatre, Scarborough
