A Guide To Love, Loss, and Desperation, the Wombats’ debut album, was released fifteen years ago. 15 years into your music career, you probably don’t anticipate gaining a vast number of new followers.
However, if you attend a Wombats concert now, the majority of those in the front row were probably infants when it was released in 2007.
The album peaked at number three on the charts at the time. However, the Liverpool trio sold out the O2 this year, and their fifth album debuted at number one right away.
So how did everything happen?
On a recent Radio 1 show, DJ Jack Saunders discussed the band’s debut album and praised its “excellent tunes” and pop compositions for their enduring appeal.
One of the few independent bands from the decade’s peak, in his opinion, to survive the competitive environment of the present scene.
Murph, the band’s leader, acknowledges that he “doesn’t know what’s going” in terms of the band attracting young followers.
He tells BBC Newsbeat, “Somehow we’re keeping [fans] in their mid to late 30s in the back of the rooms and the younger youngsters are coming to the front of them.
“We’ve always played in somewhat larger settings and gotten a little bit better. It never experienced a spectacular climb to stardom or anything similar.”
To have a number one record in the UK, he continues, “and it still feels like a slow steady grind today, but it’s reaffirmed the concept that we’ve probably been doing everything correctly for a good 15, 16 years.”
According to Murph, some of the band’s tracks being discovered on TikTok may have led to the band gaining new fans.
A tune from their third album, Greek Tragedy, went viral on the app last year after Oliver Nelson remixed it.
But he also points out that their music was already being discovered by younger audiences.
The TikTok phenomenon, he claims, “blew it up even more.” “It must be word of mouth, I suppose. I’m not sure if the lyrics have anything that appeals to younger listeners.”
Digital downloads had only recently begun to be taken into account in the charts when Love, Loss, and Desperation were released. He claims that TikTok and streaming have drastically transformed the industry today.
“Simply put, it seems more exciting now.
“The release of our first two albums was amazing. Then came our third album, which is when physical, digital, and all forms of streaming music began to merge.”
Murph also thinks that even while the “streaming world has been fantastic,” the finest content will always be at the top.
“I don’t think it’s going to endure very long to just throw everything up online,” the author says.
Murph said he could never have envisioned The Wombats lasting as long as they did when they first started.
But after 15 years and showing no signs of stopping (their newest EP is coming out later this month), how long does Murph think the band will keep playing?
He thinks, “Slamming it through our 70s would be funny.
“Even though we are on our fifth album, I believe we have a lot of energy remaining. And if I’m being absolutely honest, I want to be a part of a band that has released eight, nine, or ten albums in the past.
It will take a meteorite to stop me from traveling there, he continues.
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