The Wombats | Beautiful People Will Ruin Your Life | Album Review

Label: Kobalt Music Recordings
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Quirky and dynamic, The Wombats’ latest album Beautiful People Will Ruin Your Life is familiar yet unique. Matthew Murphy, Dan Haggis, and Tord Øverland Knudsen formed The Wombats in 2003, implementing definitive aspects of alternative rock into the band’s style. The band’s newest album follows a similar format with understated vocals, bouncy melodies, and their simple indie-rock structure. But despite sharing common elements with other indie-rock albums, Beautiful People Will Ruin Your Life manages to remain original.

The album has a distinctly playful tone that sets it apart. Tracks like “Lemon to a Knife Fight” and “Cheetah Tongue” boast delightfully unusual lyrics and melodies that stand out and capture the listener’s attention.

The album also defies the standard structure of indie-rock in tracks like “I Only Wear Black,” that break from the general major-key tonality of other alternative rock tracks. Meanwhile, the final track “I Don’t Know Why I Like You But I Do” blends elements of psychedelia in order to break up the fast-paced, animated feel that is typical of the alternative genre.

Beautiful People Will Ruin Your Life is a strong album despite its weaker tracks like, “Turn” and “White Eyes.” They are both over three minutes long, with a lethargic tone that quickly becomes redundant. However, the strengths of the album certainly outweigh the faults.

Listeners of the record can expect a taste of classic alternative rock with a twist of something new. Beautiful People Will Ruin Your Life has an energy and an attitude that thrives throughout a refreshingly unique album.