Wombats - 'Tokyo (Vampires And Wolves)'
There are times when taking the things that clever people say on face value is a dangerous game.
Take this song. We all know that Matt Murphy is a smart man, with an keen eye for the wry, so it's a toss-up as to whether this is supposed to be a parody of all the songs bands write about the existential horrors of life on the road, or actually one of those songs bands write about the existential horrors of life on the road, only one with a keener-than-usual sense of self-awareness, written by a man with a knack for jamming up happy pop tunes with sad lyrics.
Or it could just be a genuine song about feeling dehumanised by the rigours of life in a touring pop band, and wanting to return to the one great night out that made it all seem worthwhile.
Or all of these things. Or none of these things.
(No video. Adult themes.)
Personally, I'm of the opinion that Matt Murphy finds himself hilarious, and is not above embellishing his own life story for comic effect in much the same way that a blue whale is not above an albatross. So there'll probably be some pop star tantrum at the heart of all this, one which, once the red mist has abated, he can now laugh about.
And what better way to shrug off a tantrum than make it into some life-affirming pop music? A bit of scooped hi-hat here, some ghostly harmonies there, a snarky lyric and a blindingly distracting chorus. Throw in some distorto-synth and the odd stoppy-starty bit here and there, and everyone will soon forget what triggered this sorry affair in the first place.
Hell, if it's a big enough success, you'll be encouraged to have MORE tantrums, just to keep the hits flowing.
Download: Out now
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(Fraser McAlpine)
"Through 'Tokyo (Vampires & Wolves)' they seem to be beginning the retreat from teeny indie pop into a sorrowful, haunting and hanging sound that twists together elements of The Editors, Athlete and Duran Duran."
"I'm going a little crazy on the song, it's infectious to say the least."
Comment number 1.
At 4th Oct 2010, flatknees wrote:really like this track... the perfect direction for them to go into... but i hav a horrible feeling that the album they eventually release will be really poor
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Comment number 2.
At 5th Oct 2010, wincel wrote:Hi flatknees, Like you I really enjoy the track. However, I really don't understand the basis for you arriving at a conclusion that the album "will be really poor". Do you have second sight or something? I prefer to wait and see :)
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Comment number 3.
At 8th Oct 2010, flatknees wrote:i dunno, its just a feeling i have... its probably because i think of the wombats in a similar light to we are scientists (for some reason)- and we are scientist's latest was poor.. apart from 'rules dont stop me'.. i dearly hope to be proved wrong
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