The Wombats: A new take on British pop in San Diego

There was a touch of British sarcasm and charm that graced the stage at The House of Blues on Monday October 1st, in the form of the indie pop band, The Wombats. The Wombats, made up of Matthew Murphy (lead/piano/guitar), Dan Haggis (bass/guitar), and Tord Øverland-Knudsen (Percussion) have been around since 2007 with the release of their first album, Guide to Love, Loss, and Desperation. After an almost immediate claim to fame from their first album, they released This Modern Glitch a few years later in 2011, with similar synthetic beats and catchy ironic pop; albeit with a set of more profound lyrics that tackle darker themes.

The Wombats is a band full of highly talented and energetic musicians, a fact that could be seen with their rendition of “Little Miss Pipe Dream”; each band member playing multiple instruments within the course of one song. The feeling of their whole set was one of camaraderie and of being one with the audience in an interactive way. As they have said in previous interviews, they are a band who loves to perform live gigs; a statement that was proven Monday night with how well the crowd responded to the passion they have for performing their music.

The show at The House of Blues in downtown San Diego, priced at only $13 on Live Nation, ran its course for almost three hours. It included two other opening acts, Beware of Darkness and Morning Parade. Overall, with the amount of energy and musicality displayed by each of the three acts, it was a great way to start off the week and a reminder of what it should feel like to be young. This show was one of many that exemplifies the fact that there is an enormous amount of good, affordable music that is to be found in San Diego, if you know where to look.

The Wombats at The House of Blues, San Diego on Oct. 1st