THe Wombats

British indie rock trio the Wombats make driving post-punk and new wave-influenced pop marked by their cheeky, satirically sharp-tongued point of view. The band initially broke through with their 2007 debut album, A Guide to Love, Loss & Desperation, which hit the Top 20 in the U.K. They have continued to mature, balancing chart success with artful productions like 2011's This Modern Glitch, 2015's Glitterbug, and 2018's Beautiful People Will Ruin Your Life, each of which reached the Top Five on the U.K. albums chart. In 2022, they hit number one in the U.K. with their fifth studio album, Fix Yourself, Not the World. "Sorry I'm Late, I Didn't Want to Come" heralded 2025's Oh! The Ocean.

Formed in Liverpool in 2003 while the members were all attending the Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts, the Wombats feature vocalist/guitarist Matthew Murphy, drummer Dan Haggis, and Norwegian-born bassist Tord Øverland-Knudsen. In 2006, the band released their debut single, the Japan-only "Girls, Boys and Marsupials." Several singles followed before the release of the group's 2007 debut album, A Guide to Love, Loss & Desperation, which reached number 11 on the U.K. album chart. A year later, they issued the Wombats EP on Bright Antenna.

The Wombats' sophomore long-player, This Modern Glitch, appeared in 2011 and featured production from such modern rock stalwarts as Eric Valentine, Butch Walker, and Jacknife Lee. Included on the album was the Top 40 U.K. single "Tokyo (Vampires & Wolves)." It reached number three on the U.K. Albums chart and spawned more singles, including "Jump Into the Fog," which cracked the Top 30 of Billboard's Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart.

The bandmembers each moved over the next few years, with Murphy heading to Los Angeles, Haggis to London, and Øverland-Knudsen ending up in Oslo. In 2015, the group returned with their third full-length album, the synth-heavy Glitterbug, which featured production from Mark Crew and included the singles "Greek Tragedy" and "Give Me a Try." Somewhat of a breakout, the release was a commercial success in the U.K. and Australia, and marked the band's first chart entry in the U.S.