On 12 February 2015, pop-rock band The Wombats premiered “Emoticons”. “Emoticons” is a new song off of their upcoming album, “Glitterbug”, which will be released on April 6.
The Wombats are an English band formed in Liverpool. The band is made up of two native Liverpool musicians – Matthew ‘Murph’ Murphy fronting the band on vocals, guitar, and keyboards, and Dan Haggis on drums – and a Norwegian, Tord Øverland Knudsen, on bass.
The members of The Wombats are no strangers to spending time in the studio. In 2011, The Wombats released a sophomore album, “This Modern Glitch”, that was well received by fans and critics, alike. So, the highly anticipated “Glitterbug” marks their third foray into writing and recording.
Mark Crew, best known for his work with Bastille, co-produced the album with The Wombats, and the inspiration for “Glitterbug” came from frontman Murph’s experiences in Los Angeles, California.
“Murphy explained in a statement that he had been drawn to the city’s mix of “opulence and anxiety” and his songwriting for the album focused upon the idea of writing about a tempestuous relationship with a fictional woman from Los Angeles,” according to NME.
“As time progressed, I’d go to L.A. more and more, and the idea kept on building. The album’s 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,” Murph said in a statement about the album, according to DIYmag.com.
“Emoticons” isn’t the first taste of material that we’ve heard from The Wombats new album. Just last month in January, the group created and released a video for another “Glitterbug” song, “Greek Tragedy.” And, according to NME, The Wombats had released a free download of “Your Body Is A Weapon”, which appears on the new album, in October 2013.
“Emoticons” is, at it’s core, a song that could be interpreted in several ways. First, on the one hand, it is about being torn between that aforementioned – albeit fictional – Los Angeles native and home. This is evidenced in the lyric, “I like you here so much I could stay,” that Murph belts out in agony. Additionally, the song could be looked at as how emoticons can break down communication within a relationship, as Murph repeatedly sings in the chorus that, “all these emoticons try to make it better, but they only make it worse.”
Despite the myriad of interpretations, one thing remains: it is an up-tempo pop-infused number that has the potential to become an earworm long after the music’s faded.
Check it out:
The band will be supporting “Glitterbug” with a U.K. tour that kicks off with a concert at the 02 Academy in Bristol on April 8, and wraps up on April 19th at the 02 Academy in Newcastle. Additionally, there is one date announced for Sept. 26th, 2015, in Liverpool’s Echo Arena. Check out a full listing of currently announced dates, below, courtesy of DIYmag.com.
The Wombats 2015 U.K. Tour Dates
Apr. 08: Bristol, O2 Academy
Apr. 09: Manchester, Academy
Apr. 10: Birmingham, O2 Academy
Apr. 11: Sheffield, Leadmill
Apr. 13: London, O2 Academy Brixton
Apr. 15: Oxford, O2 Academy
Apr. 17: Glasgow, Barrowlands
Apr. 18: Liverpool, O2 Academy
Apr. 19: Newcastle, O2 Academy
Sept. 26: Liverpool, Echo Arena
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