Great Hall, Cardiff University Students Union, Fri 2 Oct
With three LPs released since 2007 and a sizeable four-year gap between each, I was quite surprised that The Wombats had sold out Cardiff University’s Great Hall. Having quite a predominantly teenage fanbase during their first flushes of success, much of the crowd tonight look to be in their late twenties, milling amongst a whole new generation of teenage fans.
An electric atmosphere builds as the headliners’ set nears, and come stage time plenty of lasers and neon lights helped to heighten their synth-laden electro-tinged sound. However, the Great Hall is always a letdown when it comes to gigs such as this. A rectangular shape leads to very poor peripheral views so if you’re not directly central it’s hard to get a good view. The stage itself is built too low for a decent view from up close, too, especially if you are less fortunate in height.
Back to the music itself. Matthew Murphy and co play to a devoted crowd who chant out their lyrics word for word. The Wombats’ earlier stuff is met with rapturous cheers: Moving To New York, Your Body Is A Weapon and 1996 bring the crowd to a climatic state, before they slow things down with Greek Tragedy and Techno Fan. Even if you weren’t too aware of the band it would be hard to not get caught up in their catchy hooks and melodic indie pop.
Yet there is something lacking and it all starts to feel a bit like background music. Equally, it feels harsh to criticise a band for sounding exactly as they do on the radio, but the rawness of the live experience is lacking here. Audience interaction is limited, The Wombats seemingly keen to squeeze as many songs into their set as possible rather than offer the bespoke intimacy of a live show. Quantity over quality it seems; over-rehearsed and rigid.
The Wombats seemed to have always situated themselves firmly in the middle of pop and indie. Their new album Glitterbug seems to see their pop side winning out. The electro vibe is still there and it’s what makes The Wombats sound like The Wombats but their sound has mellowed. They bring the show to a perfectly timed finish with Kill The Director and NME award-winning hit Let’s Dance To Joy Division.
Not a bad show, all in all, but a bit vanilla and hardly memorable.
words DENIECE CUSACK