A concept album - by an indie band?!
Concept albums are something that are more synonymous with 1970s pomp-rock than with modern day minimalist indie. Whereas the makers of such albums would ponder over the endless struggle of their own existence (no doubt fueled by various chemical substances) or, at the very least, tales of far off lands and the creates that inhabit them, The Wombats have decided to make their own concept album. There are no joining together of tracks for pretentious musical "movements" here, just a theme to an album that is as witty and reticent as it is musically rewarding.
"A Guide To Love, Loss and Desperation" is exactly that, a collection of thirteen songs that chronicles yearning and relationships from birth to a friend's wedding. Each song intricately expresses the emotions and reactions of each situation that it presents with wit, poise and shocking accuracy. Make no mistake, this does not portray young love as being a hopeless struggle with added bitterness towards the popular kids – this states that everyone has their good and bad moments and has their fair share of victories and defeats. It is not self indulgent and, importantly, does not take itself too seriously. It's an excellent idea for a record and one that probably should have been done before now.
No matter how good the concept, "A Guide To..." would be useless without a strong musical accompaniment. And while The Wombats sound is fairly typical of the British indie that is around at the moment it more than satisfies. In fact, the opening track, "Tales of Boys, Girls and Marsupials" features a strong three-way vocal harmony which, The Futureheads aside, is something the most bands don't bother with these days. "School Uniforms" aptly sums up youthful yearning with a killer chorus, lead single, "Let's Dance To Joy Division" offers some industrial strengths hooks that would hold the rest of the album up and "My First Wedding" is a stunning closer and does a first rate job of bringing the whole thing to a close.
While "A Guide To..." may lack the musical originality of other acts, the concept of their debut album and strong penmanship sets this above the crowd and makes for a pleasing, unpredictable and heart warming experience. In fact, its pretty much a should have for anyone who has ever been young and in love, or at least as randy as a terrier on heat.