After the success of ‘Greek Tragedy’, the Wombats have dropped the second single from their tertiary album Glitterbug titled ‘Emoticons’.
Emoticon: a representation of a facial expression such as a smile or frown, formed by various combinations of keyboard characters and used in electronic communications to convey the writer’s feelings or intended tone.
The new track picks us up where ‘Greek Tragedy’ left us, in the climax of a relationship breakdown. The difference being that the first single introduces us to the problems in the romance, whereas ‘Emoticons’ puts us in the eye of the storm. The main theme of the song is how singer Matt Murphy and his lover are failing to use real communication, instead relying on emoticons and distractions to convey emotion.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlIkk11NqBA?rel=0&w=740&h=422]
The singer sounds frustrated at his inability to drop the axe on the breakup (“it’s tough to stay objective baby, with your tongue abseiling down my neck”). The serious tone is matched with a melodic electronic sound bed, paired with an irresistibly upbeat hook – it’s still the Wombats after all!
The track itself links heavily with the group’s previous album, in which they state their struggles in adapting to modern life, audible in track ‘1996’. Overall the single is as lovable as modern indie gets; it is undeniably Wombat-esque, while still showing signs of progression from the band we all love. (: (: (:
Words by Matt Ganfield
@mattganfield