The Wombats featuring The Afternoons / Pop Noir

Tuesday, Sep 02, 2008 7:00 PM PDT (7:00 PM Doors)
at Echoplex (below the Echo)
in Los Angeles, CA

The Wombats || Listen Let's be honest, how could an album that contains Let's Dance To Joy Division possibly fail? It just can't, can it? Singles like this come along about once every five years, if not once a decade. This one song alone would have ensured The Wombats a glowing review. That's not all the lads from 2008's European City of Culture have to offer, though. From the opening acapella harmonising of Tales Of Girls, Boys and Marsupials, which also kicks off their near-perfect live performances, A Guide To Love, Loss And Desperation is a wonderful musical experience, easily one of the albums of the year and one of those irritating debuts that are so good they should be illegal. The Wombats are a rare gem. Catchy enough for the charts, indie enough for the music press, sarcastic enough for the miserable sods who moan that music was better when it came on slabs of black plastic, fresh enough for the kids who are getting a bit fed up with Arctic Monkeys and, best of all, clever enough to get Joy Division fans onto the dancefloor in a more original way than Bernard Sumner ever thought of. And with better tunes. - Music OMH